A Turkish national was placed under arrest due to a tip that he will be bringing more than three kilograms of cocaine into the country.
A drug courier from Turkey was stopped on Tuesday afternoon at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) following an informant's tip that he was carrying a significant quantity of illegal drugs.
Turkish traveler Kemal Ozenir, 48, a passenger of Emirates flight EK332 from Dubai, was arrested as he attempted to smuggle into the country 3,945 grams of cocaine concealed in bath soaps and 1,500 milliliters of liquid cocaine mixed with lotions estimated to value P28,858,500.
According to Port of NAIA, the Bureau of Customs (BoC) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) received information from their foreign counterpart that a certain traveler was due to arrive at NAIA carrying illegal drugs.
The suspect originally came from Brazil where authorities believe he got the illegal stuff .
The BoC said after Ozenir had retrieved his luggage from the baggage carousel his belongings went through X-ray scan, K9 sniffing, as well as body frisk.
On March 12, another foreign drug courier was arrested at the country's premier airport for transporting six kilograms of shabu.
The suspect from Madagascar, East Africa was accosted by Customs authorities at the NAIA after he arrived from Hong Kong via Ethiopian Airlines flight.
The BoC-NAIA said it would continue to protect the country’s borders and coordinate with partner agencies.
Tags: #cocainepackages, #turkishpassenger, #foreigncounterpart, #smuggletry, #bocnaia, #pdea