Agents of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) seized almost P29 million worth of cocaine inside the luggage of a Turkish national who arrived in the country on Tuesday, March 21. 

BOC Commissioner Bien Rubio said the seized illegal drugs were composed of liquid and powder cocaine and this resulted in the arrest of Kemal Ozenir after his arrival at the NAIA via Emirates flight EK 332 from Dubai. 

Customs officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) examine the luggage owned by a Turkish national, who brought in P28.8 million worth of cocaine via an Emirates flight on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.

Rubio said the current street value of confiscated cocaine is at P28,858,500. 

Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) Director Verne Enciso said the luggage of Ozenir was subjected to inspection based on the intelligence report of possible smuggling of illegal drugs into the country through the NAIA-Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group (NAIA-IADTG) from Homeland Security.

“After the NAIA-IADTG received the information, immediately we were on the lookout for this person and his luggage. An initial test done on the luggage showed it was positive for the presence of cocaine. The information we received and the quick action we took to stop the contraband’s entry led to the capture of the suspect in this case,” said Enciso. 

He said the seizure of one luggage yielded cocaine in powder form weighing more or less 3,945 grams and a white thick liquid substance that is more or less 1,500 milliliter. 

Aside from the arrest of Ozenir, authorities also have with them the confiscated pieces of evidence, such as one brown luggage containing assorted clothes and shoes, one Turkish passport, two boarding passes, one Turkish national ID card, one State of Qatar residency permit ID card, and one mobile phone.

Inside the brown luggage, authorities found 22 pieces of soap labeled Giorno Bagno containing more or less 3,945 grams of white powdery substance and two plastic bottles containing 1,500 ml of white thick liquid substance.

Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Group Juvymax Uy shared that the suspect is already being investigated by proper authorities. 

“This particular seizure underscores how brazen individuals have become to try and bring illegal drugs on board flights,” said Uy.

“And while it also highlights the bigger battle we have against the dangers of illegal drugs being out there on the streets, it also shows the resolve of our Customs officers in upholding the bureau’s border security mission and denying this smuggling attempt,” he added.