DFA hails DOJ advisory on drug trafficking

DFA hails DOJ advisory on drug trafficking

INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) welcomed the issuance by the Department of Justice (DOJ) of an advisory opinion on drug trafficking.

This as the DFA lauded the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) for Tuesday’s arrest of two members of a West African drug syndicate in Quezon City.

It said the DOJ advisory “is most helpful in the Philippine government’s information and awareness campaign on drug smuggling and the victimization of Filipinos as drug couriers.”

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said the advisory opinion, issued on April 29, “seeks to explain to the public the issues surrounding the recruitment, arrest, detention and conviction in foreign countries of Filipinos who are caught transporting illegal drugs.”

The advisory opinion outlined 10 recommended points for the Filipino public. These are the following:

1. Carry at your own risk.
2. Knowledge is immaterial and intent is not a requirement in drug trafficking.
3. Be vigilant of the modus operandi of drug courier syndicates.
4. In the unfortunate event of arrest or detention for drug trafficking, have presence of mind and do not resist arrest.
5. Assert your legal rights, inquire on the legal remedies and request for consular assistance.
6. Presumption of innocence will always apply.
7. The laws of country of arrest apply.
8. If sentenced, the government can only be of limited assistance.
9. "Blood money" cannot be paid to erase the liability of a person convicted of a crime involving illegal drugs.
10. Take full responsibility of your actions.

De Lima stressed that it is not a valid legal defense that the carrier of a package did not know it contains illegal drugs or that he had no intention to commit a crime.

She said the Philippine government could only offer limited assistance to arrested persons, adding that Manila could not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

“The best the government can do for you is to assist in protecting your rights and arranging your legal defense. Outside of this, the government cannot insist that you be given a different treatment than that which the laws of other countries provide,” said De Lima.

The DFA advised Filipinos to be vigilant when travelling overseas.

“They should not agree to carry any packages or luggage for strangers, even supposed friends or employers, or consent to carry packages in exchange for money. Our people can take fuller responsibility for their actions by always being on guard against such inducements,” the DFA said.

Meanwhile, Nigerian Samuel Egbo and South Korean Choi Yunji were arrested Tuesday for selling 0.5 kilograms of cocaine worth $58,140 to a narcotics agent posing as a buyer Tuesday in Quezon city. Both claimed innocence.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chief Jose Gutierrez said Egbo was involved in the recruitment of Filipino drug couriers, including Elizabeth Batain, who along with two other Filipinos, was executed in China in March for heroin smuggling.

Agency spokesman Derrick Carreon said the syndicate operates around the world, recruiting couriers from various countries. He said the Nigerian suspect is based in Thailand. With The Associated Press


Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer

Beware of Facebook ‘likes,’ drug agency warns Filipinos

By Julie M. Aurelio
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—Be wary of foreigners suddenly “liking” you on Facebook or other social networking sites, an official of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) advised netizens.

PDEA spokesperson Derrick Carreon said many drug mules or persons used to transport drugs through international borders were befriended and recruited online.

“Some of the mules or couriers we interviewed said they were befriended through the Internet by foreigners. Such cases are increasing,” he said in a forum in Quezon City.

Comparing the cases with those of Filipinos being personally approached by recruiters, the PDEA official said incidents of online “recruitment” of drug mules were now on the rise.

Many Filipino drug mules have been arrested and convicted abroad for illegal drug trafficking. In China, some are facing the death penalty.

“A big percentage” of those arrested, Carreon said, were recruited through online networking sites like Facebook.

“We do not mean to discriminate, but be wary of foreigners ‘liking’ you on Facebook,” he said.

Carreon, in a presentation, noted that those at risk of being victimized by such syndicates were poor Filipinos with little or no educational background.

“It’s the lure of easy money and going abroad. Some things to watch out for are groups of foreigners on the Internet which offer travel,” he said.

Celso Hernandez Jr. of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration’s (POEA) Anti-Illegal Recruitment Branch said Filipinos looking for overseas jobs should always go the legal way.

According to PDEA data, drug syndicates pay mules up to $3,000 for each successful trip. Some are recruited as tourists, while others are promised jobs abroad.

Hernandez said a task force on illegal recruitment would be formed soon in order to give the POEA more forces to run after illegal recruiters.

“Through a task force, we will be empowered to conduct entrapment operations and arrests,” the POEA official said.

The agency, he added, would include a briefer on the dangers of being a drug mule in the pre-orientation seminars of would-be overseas workers.

Carreon said they are also launching a media campaign to warn Filipinos about the dangers of being a drug courier for such syndicates.

Some of the reminders include not accepting packages from strangers at airports, and not being lured too easily by big money.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer