PDEA eyes link between 2 Thais nabbed at NAIA

MANILA, Philippines - Two Thai women caught smuggling shabu at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) over the weekend could be connected, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said yesterday.

PDEA director Arturo Cacdac Jr. said the total value of the shabu seized from the suspects is around P30 million.

He said Khamsa Napaporn was arrested Saturday afternoon carrying 3.1 kilos of shabu while authorities found 2.9 kilos of shabu in the possession of Sukkasem Raphirat Sunday night.

The street price of shabu is P5 million per kilo.

Wilkins Villanueva, director of the PDEA-Metro Manila Regional Office, said Napaporn arrived at NAIA Terminal 1 on board Emirates Air flight EK332 at around 5:45 p.m. on Saturday. He said the shabu was contained in two rectangular brown plastic-wrapped packages.

Raphirat arrived at around 6 p.m. Sunday at the NAIA Terminal 1 on board Emirates Air flight EK332.

PDEA spokesperson Derrick Arnold Carreon said initial indicators pointed to the possibility that the two smuggling attempts were related, noting that the two women flew onboard the same airline and the shabu they carried were wrapped in a similar manner.