3 Pinay ‘mules’ nabbed in Hong Kong, Macau

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has expressed alarm over the growing number of Filipinos picked up and detained in Hong Kong and Macau prisons for acting as “mules" or illegal drugs couriers. Last month alone, three Filipinas were arrested in separate instances in the two Chinese territories for allegedly attempting to smuggle illegal substances. One of the suspects reportedly hid the drugs inside her body. Consul General Claro Cristobal in Hong Kong reported that two Filipinas were arrested by local authorities on separate occasions for alleged drug trafficking, according to an article posted on the website of the DFA. The first arrest took place last June 2 at the Hong Kong International Airport after a kilo of heroine was found inside a luggage belonging to one of the suspects. The report said 1,040 grams of heroine were found hidden inside the soles of three pairs of shoes during inspection by the Hong Kong airport’s customs. The estimated street value of the drugs may reach HK$930,000 (US$119, 500), according to the DFA. The unnamed Filipina is now being held at the Tai Lam Centre for Women while awaiting her Sept. 2 trial in Tsuen Wan Magistrate Court. Another Filipina was arrested on June 24 when Hong Kong customs authorities found illegal drugs inside her body. The Consulate General reported the Filipina, who was charged with drug trafficking the next day, was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where doctors extracted over 800 grams of heroin from her body. The suspect yielded illegal drugs with an estimated street value of HK$780,000 (US$100,300). She is still confined at the hospital, but will also be sent to the Tai Lam Centre for Women as soon as she recuperates. A pledge to help The Consulate General gave assurance that the two Filipina suspects will get legal assistance from the Philippine officials there. "The Consulate-General will ensure that these Filipinas will have legal representation in all their court appearances and will continue to monitor the said cases," Cristobal said. Two days after, a third Filipina was arrested in Macau for the same alleged crime. This time, however, the suspect hid the illegal drugs in three pairs of sports shoes in her luggage where authorities at the Macau International Airport found almost a kilogram of drugs. An x-ray check of her luggage by customs officers revealed the shoes contained more than 940 grams of heroin, according to a report by the Macau Post Daily. The seized drugs’ estimated street value was more than 1 million patacas ($125,000). According to the report, the suspect told police a drug smuggler promised to pay her 2,490 patacas ($311) for delivering the shoes to an accomplice. The suspect is being held at the Macau Public Prosecution for further investigation, the report added. "We have made arrangements with the Macau authorities to visit her and we will extend necessary legal assistance to her," Consul General to Macau Renato Villapando said. He expressed alarm over the increase of Filipinos serving sentences in Macau for drug trafficking, currently at 17. Death row The DFA reported early this year that 66 Filipinos, including 53 women, are currently on China’s death row for attempting to smuggle illegal drugs into the country. Of these, eight women and a man were meted out capital punishment without reprieve. The rest were sentenced with a two-year reprieve. Under Chinese law, a capital punishment with a two-year reprieve means the convict is given two years to undergo “reform through labor," after which the sentence may be commuted to life imprisonment if the convict is deemed to have shown repentance for his or her crimes. Overseas-bound Filipino workers have fallen prey to drug syndicates recruiting couriers, also known as mules, to transport illegal drugs inside their luggage or shoes or fabric buttons. (See: 'Kindness' makes Pinays vulnerable to drug rings) Syndicates, however, have recently come up with more dangerous ways of smuggling prohibited substances, like stuffing drugs inside the bodies of Filipino couriers. (See: Syndicates sneak, tuck, sew drugs into Pinoys) Attempting to bring in least 50 grams of any illegal narcotic drug to China is punishable by death. On Dec. 29 last year, China executed British national Akmal Shaikh for carrying more than four kilograms of heroin into the country despite appeals from the British Prime Minister. – FONJ, GMANews.TV