BoC files raps vs 7 alleged drug mules

MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of Customs on Thursday filed charges in the Department of Justice against seven suspected foreign drug carriers who had been arrested trying to bring into the country shabu worth millions of pesos.

Charged with importing a prohibited drug into the Philippines and violating the country’s drug laws were Francesca Jovian (Indonesian), Tamil Selvi Veloo, N. Chandrar Nadarajan and Ooi Hock Guan (all Malaysians), Danny Boon Eng Ng (Singaporean), Sun Bahadur Tamang (Nepali) and Duong Thi Yen (Vietnamese).

All seven foreigners are detained at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

They were apprehended separately between May and August at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport by customs officials, according to Customs Deputy Commissioner Peter Manzano, head of the bureau’s antidrug-smuggling program.

The shabu they attempted to sneak into the country had a combined weight of 20 kilos and street value of P163.6 million, Manzano said.—Christine O. Avendaño