Airport authorities arrested two men after the bag they claimed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) yielded at least one kilogram of shabu late Saturday afternoon.
Airport authorities identified the arrested suspects as Mark Anthony de Leon, 26, a dance instructor; and his friend Bryan Cortez, both residents of Mabalacat, Pampanga.
Initial investigation showed that De Leon and Cortez were nabbed around 5 p.m. when they claimed a bag containing 1.24 kilos of shabu from a courier company inside the airport complex.
The bag, which was sent by a certain Kinzolani Guylain from Congo through courier company FedEx, arrived at NAIA last October 21 but remained unclaimed until the incident happened.
Airport authorities also said that De Leon used a fake identification card bearing the name “Ronald Revera” in an attempt to claim the bag over three weeks after it was sent.
De Leon and Cortez, for their part, claimed that they did not know the bag was containing shabu since they were only ordered to pick up the bag.
However, when Bureau of Customs (BoC)’s Anti-Illegal Drugs Unit and agents of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) asked the suspects on who instructed them to claim it, De Leon and Cortez refused to give details, authorities said. (Martin A. Sadongdong)