Colombian with 1kg cocaine inside tummy arrested in Naia

MANILA — The US Embassy in the Philippines commends the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Inter Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group (NAIA IADITG), the Philippine Bureau of Customs, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on the seizure of 1 kg of drugs, suspected to be cocaine, and the arrest of the traveler in possession of the drugs.

On November 12, 2017, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Manila shared information on a high-risk traveler aboard an incoming international flight with the Philippine Bureau of Customs and the PDEA at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. This information resulted in the arrest of a Colombian national for possession of drugs. This operation was successful thanks to close coordination between HSI, the Bureau of Customs, the PDEA, and the NAIA IADITG.

During an interview with the Philippine Bureau of Customs, the traveler admitted to swallowing approximately 1 kg of cocaine in order to smuggle the drugs into the country. He was taken into custody by Philippine authorities and transported to a local Manila hospital, where x-rays verified the existence of foreign, circular items within his body. Authorities recovered 79 condom-wrapped pellets from the subject.

The subject was arrested by Philippine law enforcement authorities for violating Section 5 of Republic Act 9165, Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. US