P55 million ‘Kush’ found anew in balikbayan boxes

On Sep 21, 2025

A Customs officer conducting an inventory of the seized 75 sealed packs of Kush hidden inside 2 balikbayan boxes from the United States (photo: BOC-PIAD).

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) announced it has foiled yet another attempt to smuggle high-grade marijuana, also known as ‘Kush,’ through balikbayan boxes.

In a statement on September 20, the BOC said 75 sealed packs of Kush, with an estimated value of ₱55 million, were found hidden inside two balikbayan boxes from a consolidated shipment of balikbayan boxes loaded inside a 40-footer van from Long Beach, California.

The BOC noted the high-grade marijuana came from the same consolidated shipment where 70 kilos of shabu worth more than P476 million concealed inside three balikbayan boxes were found last September 2 (Pinoy Exposé, September 7, 2025).

Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno, in a brief statement, commended frontline customs personnel and its strengthened partnership with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) for this latest interdiction’s success.

“The BOC will not allow our balikbayan boxes, symbols of love and care from Filipinos abroad, to be used as channels for illegal drugs,” he added.