Polish woman tagged in West African drug ring

MANILA, Philippines - A Polish woman suspected of being a drug courier for a West African drug syndicate (WADS) was arrested by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents in a hotel in Ermita, Manila over the weekend.

The NBI has filed drug charges against Barbara Eva Ziontkowska, 38, before the Manila prosecutor’s office, alleging that she is the other drug courier who was supposed to deliver more than three kilos of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu NBI agents seized from an Indonesian woman, Media Aprideri, who tried to smuggle the drug into the country through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport last May 19.

The NBI said upon instructions from a certain “Fredy,” a leader of a WADS cell, Ziontkowska traveled from Dublin, Ireland, where she resides, to recover the drugs from Aprideri, who they thought was sick and could not travel to Malaysia and Indonesia. Aprideri had been arrested by then.

NBI Reaction Arrest and Interdiction Division chief Ross Jonathan Galicia said the arrests of Aprideri and Ziontkowska are clear indications that WADS now prefer nationalities other than Filipinos.

“It seems they had temporarily stopped hiring Filipinos and other drug mules in Asia after successful operations against WADS in the region. The arrest of the Polish woman was something new for us,” Galicia said.