With more Filipinos getting arrested for drug trafficking abroad, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency is warning overseas Filipino workers and Filipino tourists not to let themselves be used by drug trafficking syndicates.{{more}}
Local PDEA Special Investigator Agent Ivy Oledan said the number of Filipinos recruited for drug trafficking by international drug syndicates have picked up in the past years as records show a total of 689 Filipino drug mules arrested as of January 2011 in different countries, mostly in Asian nations such as China, Macau, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand.
í¢â‚¬Å“Filipinos have become easy targets for the illegal drugs syndicate as they exploit the Filipinosí¢â‚¬â„¢ dreams of a better life by promising them jobs abroad and working visas,í¢â‚¬ said Oledan during a forum held by the Philippine Information Agency here on March 9 at Plaza Ma. Luisa Suites Inn.
Of the total 689 arrested drug couriers, 431 are females due to the assumption that women will draw lesser suspicion from authorities while 89 are already facing death penalty conviction.
PDEAí¢â‚¬â„¢s records show that a group known as West African Drug Syndicate is behind the alarming increase of Filipino women arrested as drug couriers or í¢â‚¬Å“drug mules.í¢â‚¬
Most of these women were recruited either thru casual acquaintances or online chatrooms where the victims are lured by foreigners to visit them abroad, pay for their airfares and accommodations as long as they bring a certain package with them which would turn out to contain illegal drugs.
Also susceptible are overstaying OFWs whose working visas are about to expire. í¢â‚¬Å“The syndicates with their Filipi co-horts would approach these OFWs and offer them jobs and money as much as $2,000 for every successful delivery and pay for their plane tickets,í¢â‚¬ said Oledan.
The couriers are then instructed to swallow latex balloons or capsules containing either heroine, cocaine or shabu which the courier would flush out from his body thru defecation upon arrival at his destination, a risky practice known as body packing or body stuffing.
í¢â‚¬Å“This is very dangerous for the courier as the capsule can burst or leak inside the body and cause drug overdose which can lead to death,í¢â‚¬ warned Oledan.
Aside from drug ingestion, other methods of drug mules are hiding drugs inside suitcases or luggages, inside chutes, strapping them to oneí¢â‚¬â„¢s body, or placing them inside books, bottles and parcels.
Each year, 50 Filipinos are recruited into the drug mule trade by one recruiter alone.
Majority of the arrested Filipino drug mules claim that they had no knowledge of the illegal drugs they were carrying.
í¢â‚¬Å“Filipinos are known to be hospitable and will easily accommodate requests to bring packages from other people when they go home or abroad without bothering to find out whatí¢â‚¬â„¢s inside the package,í¢â‚¬ added Oledan.
Although none of the arrested Filipino drug couriers come from Negros Oriental, Oledan said that the local security forces as well as the community should remain vigilant against drug trafficking. (RMN/PIA-7 Negros Oriental)