PDEA arrests Nigerian linked to drug mule executed in China

MANILA, Philippines - A Nigerian man and his Korean girlfriend were arrested by Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) operatives in a drug bust in Barangay Pinyahan, Quezon City before dawn yesterday.

Samuel Egbo, 34, and Yunji Choi, 22, are reportedly members of a West African drug syndicate that recruited Elizabeth Batain, who was executed in China for drug trafficking, PDEA director general Jose Gutierrez said in a press conference yesterday.

The two were allegedly selling half a kilo of cocaine worth P2.5 million when they were arrested, he said. The two denied the charges.

PDEA intelligence chief Jigger Montallana said a former drug mule gave them information that enabled them to set up the sting. He said the informant met Batain because they were recruited by the same syndicate.

“Our informant was never arrested and has stopped being a drug mule. He may have felt bad about what happened to Batain, that’s why he came forward to cooperate with us,” Montallana added.

Egbo, who arrived in the country in 2000, is said to be one of the main facilitators in the recruitment of Filipina drug couriers, including Batain.

Gutierrez alleged that Egbo is connected with a “cell” based in Bangkok, Thailand and uses hacked credit card accounts to pay for the plane tickets of drug couriers.

PDEA said West African drug syndicates have switched to using Koreans as drug couriers following the publicity involving Filipino drug mules. Choi, reportedly Egbo’s girlfriend, claimed to have just arrived in the country Monday. Her passport showed she had been in and out of the Philippines thrice before.