A Malaysian woman arrested recently in Canada and deported to Manila on suspicion of being a terrorist may have been a victim of a jealous former lover who made phone calls tipping her off as a terrorist.
Katrina Sanchez, who lives in the Philippines, was about to be released by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) last Friday, but was instead handed over to the Philippine National Police. She is now detained at Camp Crame.
"At first we were about to release her because we had no terrorist information about her," NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco told reporters.
"But later on when we made our final coordination with (other intelligence agencies), it appeared there were connections between her and the terror groups." He did not elaborate.
Sanchez was detained for three weeks upon arrival in Canada for possessing fake identification cards and a copy of an unsigned affidavit of Agus Dwikarna, an Indonesian serving a prison sentence in the Philippines for suspected terrorism, a Bureau of Immigration (BI) source told The STAR.
She told Canadian airport authorities that she was married to a Canadian and had acted as an interpreter for Philippine authorities — including the BI — during Dwikarna’s questioning. She kept the affidavit as a souvenir, the source said.
Sanchez was deported nevertheless and turned over to the NBI.
In an interview, Sanchez confirmed she was held for questioning but insisted that she flew back to Manila voluntarily.
Chief Superintendent Jaime Caringal, head of the PNP’s intelligence arm, said Sanchez "has no terrorist link."
The BI source confirmed that Sanchez had worked for the police and the BI in many cases requiring interpreters but admitted knowing very little about her background.
"My suspicion is that Canadian authorities were tipped off to stop her because she was a terrorist. I was told that we received a similar phone tip at our airport in the past about her terrorist links," the source said. The supposed tipster was a male with a foreign accent.
Sanchez suspected that the supposed fipster was her former Australian lover, John Henderson, who objected to her marriage.
She also claimed that she "forgot" to return the documents to the police "because she was so excited about her departure."
Authorities, however, are still checking Sanchez’s background.
"We are not certain what the real identity of Sanchez is, her association with Dwikarna and her reason for carrying classified documents from the (PNP)," a source from the local intelligence community said.
Canadian authorities found a PNP identification card under the name "Maj. Trina Azizah Datukhan," a press ID under "Khartina D.K. Sanchez," and a third identifying her as the wife of one retired Australian colonel Henderson in Sanchez’s luggage, the source said.
Reports received from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said she was born on Feb. 14, 1982 as "Khartina Datukhan" and "Khartina Azir" but Philippine authorities were doubtful. — Christina Mendez