NBI admits failure to establish Ogutu's link to syndicate

CEBU, Philippines - The conviction of Kenyan drug mule Asha Atieno Ogutu has ended any further investigation of the National Bureau of Investigation into her possible connection of an international drug syndicate.

NBI-7 assistant director Lauro Reyes said they have terminated their investigation on the subject because Ogutu refused to cooperate with them.

“Close na ang kaso hindi namin na verify if mayron bang syndicate kasi si Ogutu hindi nagsasalita. Sabi lang niya di niya alam na may drugs pala sa luggage niya,” he said.

Reyes said Ogutu maintained her denial of the three kilos of drugs found in her luggage since the time she was arrested at the Mactan Cebu International Airport in September last year until her conviction last Monday.

According to Reyes, they would have wanted to elicit information from Ogutu who ordered her to deliver the illegal drugs in Cebu but she was insisting that she did not know anything about it.

Reyes explained that without Ogutu’s cooperation it is impossible for them to know the people behind the syndicate.

Regional Trial Court Branch 27 Judge Toribio Quiwag in Lapu-Lapu City found Ogutu guilty of drug trafficking and sentenced her to suffer the penalty of life imprisonment. She was also ordered to pay the fine of P3 million.

Ogutu’s lawyer Ricardo Amores said they will file a petition for review before the Supreme Court. – (FREEMAN)