By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan
MANILA – A 29-year-old Filipino woman attempting to smuggle more than PHP24 million worth of cocaine was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said Friday.
In a statement, PDEA said the suspect was arrested by the NAIA Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group at the international arrival area of Terminal 3 at about 8 p.m. Thursday.
She yielded 4.57 kg. of cocaine, with a standard drug value of PHP24.2 million, found concealed in two bags, along with mobile phones, travel documents, and identification cards.
The operation happened at the customs exclusion room at NAIA Terminal 3, where a Customs X-ray inspector noticed during scanning that the suspect’s baggage contained a suspicious substance.
A K9 inspection indicated the presence of narcotics inside the baggage, prompting authorities to open it. The powdery substance they discovered was later confirmed as cocaine.
Based on her flight details, the suspect arrived via Ethiopian Airlines from Sierra Leone in West Africa with a connecting flight in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia bound for Manila.
In a separate statement, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) identified the suspect as 29-year-old Joy Gulmatico.
BI Anti-Terrorist Group (ATG) head Bienvenido Castillo III said the suspect’s flight pattern prompted them to recommend that she be inspected by members of the NAIA drug interdiction task group (DITG).
The seized drugs were brought to the PDEA for documentation and disposition procedures.
The suspect will face charges for violating Republic Act (RA) 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002), and RA 10863 (Customs Modernization and Tariff Act).
P10.2-M ‘shabu’ seized in Cebu
Meanwhile, police and PDEA operatives arrested a drug suspect in Cebu province and seized suspected shabu with an estimated street value of PHP10.2 million.
The suspect, alias Reymond, 43, of Barangay Subangdaku, was arrested in a buy-bust along FE Zuellig Street, Barangay Subangdaku in Mandaue City at about 8 p.m. on Wednesday.
Found in his possession were nine packs of suspected shabu weighing 1.5 kg., buy-bust money, a mobile phone, and a backpack.
The pieces of drug evidence were submitted to the forensic unit of the Police Regional Office 7 (Central Visayas) for chemical analysis and proper disposition.
Cases for violation of RA 9165 will be filed against the suspect. (with Ferdinand Patinio/PNA)
