Pinay OFW turned ‘drug mule’ nabbed with 8 kilos of cocaine

A FILIPINA overseas worker arriving from Doha, Qatar, was immediately arrested on arrival at Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) last January 22 after her check-in baggage yielded 8 kilos of cocaine worth ₱43.4 million.

NAIA District Collector Atty. Yasmin Mapa, in her report to Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno, said alert personnel from the bureau’s X-Ray Inspection Project (XIP) detected “suspicious images” from the passenger’s check-in luggage that to its 100 percent inspection and the discovery of the contraband. The suspected drug mule’s identity was not immediately available.

Mapa noted that the arrest follows the apprehension last January 26 of a male passenger from South Africa, identity not disclosed, who tried to sneak in some 6 kilos of methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) worth ₱40.84 million.

Acting on classified information, the passenger was flagged on arrival and his luggage physically inspected that led to the discovery of the illegal drugs.

The arrests capped the series of successful anti-drug operations by Customs personnel in the last 2 weeks of January where over ₱95 million worth of illegal drugs were confiscated.

Also on January 22, Mapa informed Commissioner Nepomuceno that high=grade marijuana also known as ‘Kush’ weighing 2.482 kilos in 8 separate parcels were discovered and seized at the Central Mail Exchange Center (CMEX) in Pasay City.

The parcels were declared as various consumer items including clothing, dog food, and board games.

Upon examination, however, the parcels were found to contain a total of 2,482 grams of dried marijuana (kush) concealed inside the declared items with a street value of ₱3.72 million, Mapa said.

At the Port of Clark, District Collector Jairus Reyes informed Commissioner Nepomuceno on the seizure of more than 4.8 kilos of Kush with a combined value of ₱7.22 million.

Reyes said the first shipment, declared as ‘polyester rug runner’ from California, USA and bound for delivery at an address in San Mateo, Rizal, was found to contain 4.11 kilos of Kush valued at ₱6.16 million.

Another shipment, declared as ‘Jeans,’ also from California and for delivery to an address in Batangas province, was found to contain 712 grams of Kush valued at ₱1.068 million.

All the seized contraband including the arrested suspects have been turned over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) for further investigation and the filing of appropriate criminal charges.