VICTORIA CITY : Despite repeated reminders from the government in the wake of the high profile Mary Jane Veloso death penalty case in Indonesia, many Filipinos are still being tricked or enticed into becoming drug couriers.
Earlier this month, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that a Filipina had been arrested in Hong Kong for attempting to smuggle cocaine. DFA assistant secretary Charles Jose revealed that the 37-year-old woman had arrived in Hong Kong on Jul 30.
“During a spot check on her luggage, security officers found two slabs of suspected cocaine, one weighing about 330 grams and the other 390 grams,” reports The Manila Times.
The cocaine slabs (a total of 720 grams) had been concealed in a false compartment in the bag that the woman was carrying. They have an estimated total market value of US$750,000. GMA News Online noted that the woman had claimed that “somebody from Manila” had asked her to bring the bag to Hong Kong. In her preliminary statement submitted to the Philippine consulate in Hong Kong, the woman said she didn’t know what was inside the bag.
The woman was arrested and then detained by the Hong Kong police. “Our consulate will extend necessary consular and legal assistance,” Jose said. More recently, an ABS-CBN News report identified the woman as Ann Raian Santos Cruz. She is said to be a call center agent. She has reportedly traveled to Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia; Doha, Qatar; Singapore; and Hong Kong.
Bureau of Immigration records show that Cruz traveled twice to Malaysia and thrice to Hong Kong this year. Curiously enough, she used three different passport numbers for the said travels. The BI, along with the Manila International Airport Authority, are conducting their own probes on how Cruz managed to smuggle out the cocaine from the Philippines. Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the judge has set the hearing for her case to Oct 24 for further inquiry. Until then, she remains under the custody of the Hong Kong Police Force.
