By ARIEL FERNANDEZ
Bureau of Customs (BoC) agents at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 arrested Monday night a Bolivian lady passenger for trying to smuggle into the country an undetermined amount of liquid cocaine hidden in her four winter jackets.
NAIA customs district collector Ed Macabeo said that at around 6:40 p.m. Monday, the Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group (IADITG) conducted surveillance operations based on an Interpol report that a foreign passenger is carrying undetermined prohibited drugs.
Macabeo said the subject of surveillance – Maria Hinojosa Bazan – was on board Etophian Air flight ET 628 from Addis Ababa that arrived at 6:49 p.m..
She was identified by members of the IADITG with the help of immigration officials upon presenting her passport.
Customs officials invited her at the exclusion room of the customs arrival area for rigid examination of her belongings in the presence of all concerned.
They found suspected liquid cocaine in four winter jackets in her luggage.
The white liquid substance was tested positive for cocaine by the Customs Anti-Illegal Drug Task Force (CAIDTF).