PDEA warns OFWs of drug syndicates in airports

MANILA, Philippines – Sometimes it pays not to help strangers – especially in airports.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is advising Filipino travelers to be careful about accommodating requests to carry baggage from strangers in airports as these may contain illegal drugs.

Senior Undersecretary Dionisio Santiago, director general of PDEA, warned about transnational drug syndicates that take advantage of the accommodating nature of Filipinos or pakikisama.

Santiago said organized drug syndicates would request departing overseas Filipino workers in airports abroad to carry a small baggage containing their contraband in exchange for $400.

“It is unwise to risk one’s life and future for any amount of dangerous drugs or cash. We pity our OFWs because organized drug groups abuse their kind nature,” he said.

Santiago cited the cases of seven OFWs who had been caught in airports in China for supposedly transporting illegal drugs there. 

Two of them were nabbed in Hong Kong for carrying five kilograms of heroin while the other five were picked up in Shenzhen in connection with drug smuggling.

“It is sad to note that Filipino travelers caught with the drugs will suffer the scathing consequences despite the fact that they did not know they were actually carrying such dangerous substances,” the PDEA chief lamented.

Santiago said he received the information through a letter from the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA) last June 19.

OUMWA officer-in-charge Crescente Relacion revealed that there have been a total of 36 Filipinos arrested in China for drug-related offenses from January to May this year.

Records showed that the OFWs were invited by a friend or befriended by a black man (usually Nigerian) to travel to a city in the region and bring in drugs to China in their persons or luggage.

The OUMWA requested PDEA to help disseminate the warning in view of the alarming increase in the number of Filipinos arrested in China and the possible death sentence that they face upon conviction for drug smuggling.

In response, Santiago vowed to intensify anti-drug operations in cooperation with domestic and international law enforcement counterparts. He said a crucial part of their campaign is public awareness on the issue. – Edu Punay