Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III lauded anew the Bureau of Customs (BOC) under the leadership of Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon for its successive arrests in just over two weeks of six suspected drug couriers with the help of airport and drug enforcement authorities at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
Dominguez issued the statement following the latest arrest made by the BOC-NAIA Interagency Drug Interdiction Group (IADIG) of a 22-year old Venezuelan woman who was found last Monday to be carrying 4.3 kilograms of cocaine.
Venezuelan Genesis Lorena Pineda Salazar, as with the other suspected drug couriers earlier arrested, also arrived onboard an Emirates flight last Oct.17.
“We commend the Bureau of Customs under the able leadership of Commissioner Faeldon for remaining highly vigilant against attempts by narco traffickers to smuggle in illegal drugs into the country,” Dominguez said.
Dominguez earlier said these arrests should serve as a strong deterrent to narco-traffickers against smuggling illegal substances here or using the country as a transshipment point for their illicit trade.
The finance secretary also commended the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) for its invaluable assistance in providing information that led to these drug busts.
“The commendable efforts of the Customs team, the agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and airport authorities reflect the focused and determined leadership of President Duterte in the unremitting war against this scourge,” Dominguez added.
The Customs team assigned at the NAIA, working under the IADIG and in close coordination with the PDEA, arrested last Oct. 15 Brazilian Yasmin Silva, who was found to be carrying 6.2 kilos of cocaine with a street value of P30 million.
They had earlier arrested a Filipino student, a Russian and two Chinese based in Hong Kong in separate attempts to smuggle cocaine into the country.
Silva, along with the other suspected drug couriers earlier apprehended by the interagency anti-illegal drugs team, had all arrived onboard an Emirates flight.
The arrest of Silva was made after NAIA authorities received information from the US DEA about a passenger carrying narcotics who would be arriving onboard Emirates flight EK-322.
Simultaneous cases of drug smuggling will be filed against Silva, who had traveled to the Philippines for the first time.
Last Oct. 5, the IADIG nabbed two Chinese from Hong Kong and a Russian at the airport for trying to smuggle in 27.9 kilos of cocaine with a street value of P130 million.
The IADIG apprehended Chan Kawai and Pau Homanevan, both Chinese nationals from Hong Kong, and Kirdyushkin Yury, a Russian, who arrived separately on an Emirates flight from Hong Kong.
On Oct. 2, a 22-year old student, Jon-Jon Villamin, arrived via an Emirates flight from Dubai and was found to be carrying 4.8 kilos of cocaine with a street value of P25 million following a joint BOC-PDEA operation.
