Fishermen discovered sacks allegedly containing methamphetamine worth 27 million USD floating off the coast of the Philippines.

A group of 10 anglers were on a fishing trip when they found the contraband near West Bajo de Masinloc, Zambales, on May 29.

Reports said the anglers initially believed the items were food packs. However, upon opening one of the plastic sacks, they were startled to find packets of a substance suspected to be methamphetamine, locally known as 'shabu'.

After returning from their trip on June 2, the fishermen promptly turned over 10 sacks of the suspected drugs to authorities.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Undersecretary Isagani R Nerez said: 'They chose to do what is right. Their vigilant efforts and honesty of surrendering their extraordinary find deserved recognition.'

The sacks contained 223 vacuum-sealed transparent plastic packs of suspected shabu, weighing approximately 222.65 kilograms, with an estimated street value of PHP 1.5 billion (around USD 27 million).

Authorities have launched an investigation into the origin of the drugs.

The substances will undergo forensic examination at the PDEA Regional Office 3 laboratory.

(1 PHP = 0.018 USD)