BAGUIO CITY — Three tourists from Teresa, Rizal were held at a checkpoint in Barangay Abatan, Bauko town, Mountain Province on Wednesday morning for transporting P1.94 million worth of marijuana bricks back home.
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Cordillera Director Julius M. Paderes said the three male tourists yielded 16 bricks of dried marijuana leaves weighing a total of 16.16 kilos as well as 3.5 grams of dried leaves believed to be kush.
Mr. Paderes said law enforcers manning the checkpoint were alert enough to notice a small tube inside the car that had marijuana residue, prompting them to search the vehicle and discover the marijuana bricks.
Since they were descending along Halsema Highway, the PDEA-Cordillera director suspects the contraband came from a source in Kalinga. — Artemio A. Dumlao
