Indonesian caught with P17-M shabu at NAIA

MANILA, Philippines - An Indonesian woman was arrested by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents when she arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) from Dubai yesterday for allegedly trying to smuggle more than three kilos of shabu in her luggage, officials said yesterday.

During a press conference at the NBI headquarters in Manila, Vice President Jejomar Binay said Media Aprideri, 28, a saleslady for a pharmacy in Indonesia, arrived at the NAIA Terminal 1 (NAIA-1) with shabu packs concealed in the lining and false bottom of her luggage. The shabu has a street value of approximately P17 million.

Aprideri, who is suspected of being a member of a West African drug syndicate, is set to undergo inquest proceedings before the Pasay City prosecutor’s office.

The NBI said the x-ray machine at NAIA-1 failed to detect the drugs, and only the sniffing dogs at the airport were able to detect the packs of shabu.

Records show Apridero traveled from Bamako, Mali then to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, and proceeded to Dubai then to the Philippines.

Aprideri also traveled to Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines sometime last year and early this year, the NBI records showed.

The Philippines is only a transit point of the travel, and the final destination was supposed to be Indonesia, according to the NBI.