ILOILO City – The Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) has uncovered what appears to be an emerging online supply chain for marijuana after confirming that several high school students arrested in separate incidents allegedly purchased the illegal drug through online transactions and had it delivered via legitimate courier services.
The discovery has prompted police to expand their investigation beyond the students and identify the online sellers and distribution network behind the transactions.
ICPO Director Col. Wilbert Parilla said intelligence gathering and follow-up investigations conducted after four minors from two public schools in Iloilo City were caught with marijuana led authorities to the alleged online source of the drug.
“Our investigation and information from our informants confirmed that they obtained the marijuana online. We are now preparing a report that will be forwarded to courier companies because legitimate courier services are being used to deliver these illegal drugs,” Parilla said.
He clarified that the courier companies are not considered suspects, noting that they may have unknowingly transported parcels containing prohibited substances.
Instead, investigators are looking into how the senders allegedly concealed marijuana inside packages and managed to bypass routine shipment screening procedures.
According to Parilla, this is among the first confirmed cases in Iloilo City involving marijuana allegedly purchased online by students, although authorities have previously intercepted other prohibited items sent through courier services.
“We have encountered online deliveries before, but those mostly involved illegal cigarettes. This is one of the first confirmed cases involving marijuana purchased online and delivered to students,” he said.
Police are now working to identify the online platforms used, trace digital transactions, and determine whether the sellers are operating in Iloilo or elsewhere in the country.
Authorities are also verifying whether the cases indicate a broader distribution network targeting minors through social media or e-commerce platforms.
Parilla said investigators also found that some of the students had allegedly used marijuana even before the recent incidents.
“There were already instances that some of these same students had used marijuana before,” he said.
Police are now determining whether the students were merely buyers or had also introduced the illegal substance to their classmates inside their respective schools.
The investigation stemmed from two separate incidents involving four minors.
Three students, aged 14, 15, and 16, from A. Bonifacio Integrated School in City Proper were apprehended after a teacher allegedly caught them smoking marijuana inside a school comfort room.
Police recovered a makeshift pipe containing suspected marijuana during the incident.
In a separate case, a 16-year-old student of Jaro National High School was also found in possession of suspected marijuana.
Parilla said charges for violation of Section 11 of Republic Act No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, have been filed against the 15-year-old and 16-year-old students from A. Bonifacio Integrated School, as well as the 16-year-old student from Jaro National High School.
The 14-year-old student, meanwhile, was referred to intervention and rehabilitation programs in accordance with the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act.
As the investigation expands, the ICPO will coordinate with courier companies and other law enforcement agencies to strengthen monitoring of suspicious parcels and identify individuals allegedly using online platforms to sell and distribute illegal drugs.
Parilla said the case highlights how the illegal drug trade has adapted to technology, making prohibited substances more accessible to young people without face-to-face transactions.
“We are no longer dealing only with street-level transactions. We are now seeing illegal drugs being ordered online and delivered directly to buyers. That is why we are expanding our investigation to identify everyone involved—from the online sellers to the people facilitating the deliveries,” he said./PN
