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Two Hongkongers and a Russian national were arrested at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila for allegedly smuggling 28kg of cocaine worth some 140 million pesos (HK$22 million).
Philippine customs official Marlon Alameda, head of a drug-fighting task force, said some 18kg of cocaine were seized from the two Hong Kong residents while the Russian national was carrying 9.9 kilos of cocaine in powder and liquid form, local media reported.
Chan Ka-wai, Evan Pau Ho-man and Yuri Kirdyushkin were arrested Wednesday afternoon following a tip from the US Drug Enforcement Agency, according to Wilkins Villanueva of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency as reported by local media.
Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte declared a war on drugs after he was elected on June 30. His administration’s efforts have led to the deaths of more than 3,600 people.
The three arrested men were travelling from Brazil via Dubai. They were reportedly arrested shortly after they claimed their baggage from a carousel.
They denied knowing about the illegal drugs, claiming friends asked them to take the luggage for their flight to the Philippines, CNN reported.
Airport authorities said that, although the three were on the same flight, they were not together. Kirdyushkin, the Russian national, was on his way to Bangkok.
The three suspects are understood to be in custody in Manila as the Philippine drug agency is testing the confiscated items. No bail is available for the offence, which carries a possibility of lifetime imprisonment.
Authorities said they would coordinate with the suspects’ respective embassies.
The bulk of illegal drugs entering the Philippines is understood to come from the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
In August, Philippine officials called on Chinese authorities to tackle the problem at its source. According toThe Philippine Star, Philippine officials met Chinese ambassador Zhao Jianhua and urged Beijing to deter its citizens from carrying drugs to the Southeast Asian nation.
Also in August, authorities warned that customs personnel based at the international airport in Manila were conducting random searches of baggage belonging to passengers coming from “high-risk” countries, targeting illegal drugs and taxable items.
In July this year, four Hong Kong men werearrested following a raidon a “floating crystal meth laboratory” off the island nation’s popular tourist resort of Subic Bay northwest of Manila.
They were accused of manufacturing illegal substances and possessing half a kilo of the drug methamphetamine, or Ice. The authorities also alleged the men were part of a racket that was moving drugs from the vessel to the mainland. The four denied the charges.
(SCMP)
