Dubious travel pattern gives away 2 cocaine mules

The Bureau of Immigration on Friday commended its Anti-Terrorist Group for arresting two drug couriers at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.

The suspects, identified as mother and daughter Siti Aishah Binte Awang and Nur Alaviyah Binte Hanaffe, both Singaporeans, were intercepted on Wednesday after disembarking from a Qatar Airlines flight from Doha, Qatar.

BI-ATG airport head Bienvenido Castillo III said the two suspects attempted to transit to Hong Kong via the Philippines, but the BI officer at NAIA 3 intercepted them after detecting a suspicious travel pattern.

Castillo said they had received information about suspected drug couriers from their international counterparts. He added they observed that the suspects would come in and out of the country.

He said they coordinated with the members of the NAIA-Drug Interdiction Task Group.

After alerting the task group, Bureau of Customs and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency members conducted an entrapment operation with the assistance of airline representatives.

A canine inspection showed the duo's luggage contained suspicious materials. A check by the BOC confirmed their bags contained six cookie tins and five cans of chips containing 564 pellets with a white powdered substance.

The substance, identified as cocaine, weighed 14,360 grams with a current street value of P76,108,000.