Recruiter of executed Pinay may be eyeing more 'mules'

The National Bureau of Investigation said that the alleged recruiter of one of the executed Filipinos in China is still at large and could be lining up more Filipino "drug mules" to smuggle heroin into other countries. NBI deputy director for intelligence Ruel Lasala on Thursday said their information shows recruiter Mapet Cortez (a.k.a. Tita Cacayan) is in Isabela province but could be in hiding. "Ang pagkakaalam natin, nariyan siya sa Isabela. Alam ko natatakot yan. Mainit yan, baka gawan ng masama. Ikaw ang malagay sa lugar nila, maraming galit (From what we know, Cacayan is in Isabela. But she could be hiding because she fears reprisal from her other victims)," Lasala said in an interview on dzBB radio. Before the media attention surrounding the executions, Cortez could have already prepared other prospective Filipino travelers to smuggle drugs into China and other countries, he said. Before her execution Wednesday, Sally Ordinario-Villanueva tagged Cortez as the recruiter who had her unwittingly smuggle heroin into China. According to Villanueva's sworn statement, Cortez was an acquaintance who promised her a job in China but insisted that Villanueva use an empty suitcase that Cortez gave her for her clothes. Upon Villanueva's arrival in Xiamen, China in 2008, Chinese officials found over 4,000 grams, or nearly nine pounds, of heroin in the lining of the suitcase. According to Lasala, that was just one method of drug smuggling into China. "Ang iba pinapalulon, ang iba pina-padala lang ... Tagong tago ang pagkakalagay niyan (Some of them swallowed the drugs, others brought in drugs that were well-concealed)," he said. The NBI has already charged Cacayan, and a preliminary investigation by the Department of Justice is ongoing. — LBG/HS, GMA News