Marijuana blocks found in suspicious package left in bus

KORONADAL CITY, Philippines - What was thought to be a powerful improvised explosive device on Monday were three compressed blocks of dried Marijuana leaves a courier abandoned in haste inside a bus after sensing the heavy presence of policemen at the public terminal here.

The blue bag containing the contraband was first noticed by bus conductor Von Rey Delos Reyes inside a unit of a Yellow Bus Company bearing body number 4004, parked at the terminal in a busy spot in the city.

Delos Reyes recalled a man, clad in a dark colored shirt and denim pants, boarding the bus while in Tupi town in South Cotabato, carrying the blue backpack.

The passenger suddenly disembarked and mysteriously disappeared just after the bus entered the terminal here for a brief stopover, en route to Tacurong City in nearby Sultan Kudarat.

Investigators said the drug courier could have decided to escape after seeing uniformed policemen and security guards in the surroundings of the terminal, as part of the security measures aimed at preventing bomb attacks either by extortion gangs or terrorists.

It took some time for policemen to figure out what was inside the “mysterious” blue backpack since their bomb-sniffing dogs were trained only to detect IEDs and hidden guns, not illegal drugs.

The compressed marijuana blocks found inside the bag weighed about a kilo each.

Investigators are now trying to identify the drug courier from recordings of security cameras mounted at strategic spots around the terminal and nearby commercial establishments.