Government anti-narcotics authorities arrested on Friday, Feb. 13, a German national for allegedly attempting to smuggle around P55.38 million worth of shabu during the interdiction operation at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said.
In a statement, PDEA said that the 77-year old foreigner, an arriving passenger from Johannesburg, South Africa, was collared after authorities seized approximately 8, 145 grams of suspected shabu in nine improvised pouches concealed in two books labelled “Holy Bible’’ that was inside a black mountain backpack.
Authorities also discovered travel documents, boarding passes, an international driving permit, bank cards, a cellular phone, a Samsonite luggage bag containing personal belongings, and US dollar cash from the suspect during the 2 p.m. operation at the Customs Exclusion room at the NAIA Terminal 3.
The arrested German faces charges for violation of Section 4 (Importation of Dangerous Drugs and/or Controlled Precursors and Essential Chemicals), Article II of Republic Act (RA) 9165 or “The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.