P19.2-M high-grade marijuana found adrift in Sabina Shoal

Manila, Philippines – The military found a black bag stuffed with illegal drugs valued at P19.2 million off Sabina Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

A naval task force on board the patrol gunboat BRP Lolinato To-ong (PG-902) retrieved the package on Friday, Oct. 17, on a tip from the Maritime CAFGU Active Auxiliary Unit-West in Palawan.

The bag contained 16 kilograms of illegal drugs – which authorities suspect to be high-grade marijuana kush – and was turned over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the agency said in a statement.

Sabina Shoal, an uninhabited atoll 75 nautical miles from the western coast of Palawan, is one of the flashpoints between Manila and Beijing given its proximity to the Second Thomas Shoal (Ayungin Shoal). In August last year, a maritime confrontation between the two nations’ forces erupted during a resupply mission being conducted by the Philippine Coast Guard.

The navy said an investigation is ongoing on whether foreign vessels dropped the marijuana-filled black bag in contested waters.

“We have monitoring stations across the country as well as surface combatants for our ships that are patrolling the area,” navy spokesperson Capt. Marissa Martinez told a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo.

Maritime traffic surrounding Sabina Shoal is “dense” with a mix of civilian and fishing vessels as well as commercial vessels passing through, she said citing satellite imagery.

The Chinese PLA Navy and the China Coast Guard ships also maintain presence there.

“You could also see dense traffic of fishing vessels, commercial vessels and everyone knows about it, maritime militia across that area,” Martinez said.

“So… I would not say there are particular vessels that deployed this black bag,” she said.