RP EMBASSY IN BRAZIL WARNS FILIPINOS OF DRUG TRAFFICKING

The Philippine embassy in Brazil warned Filipinos against being
victimized as drug mules in light of the arrest of a Filipino woman
found with 5 kilos of cocaine in the South American country, the
Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday. The alleged 5kg of
cocaine were found hidden in her luggage with false bottoms at the
Guarulhos International Airport by Brazilian Federal Police on August
19.

But during the investigation, the woman told police officers that she
bought the bag in the middle of the street in San Paolo. She also said
that she intends to sell the bags when she came back in the
Philippines.

According to the woman, who earlier informed her sister of her arrest,
she had no idea that the bags contained prohibited substances.

"This arrest, as well as the most recent arrest of another Filipina
[on] October 17, indicates the continuing operations of international
drug syndicates using Filipinas as drug mules in spite of the
government's aggressive information and law enforcement campaign,"
Philippine Ambassador to Brazil Eva Betita said in a statement.

From January to October this year, the embassy reported that 15
Filipinos were arrested in Brazil for drug trafficking, 13 of them
were women. Currently, the embassy is monitoring 50 reported cases of
Filipinos detained for drug trafficking under its jurisdiction.

Reports said that if found guilty, anyone who was part of a drug
trafficking case in Brazil can be meted the penalty of spending eight
years or more in jail.

In fact, a 34-year-old woman from KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa is
currently serving an eight-year jail term in Brazil for engaging in a
high-profile drug trafficking incident.

Meanwhile, the Philippine embassy in Santiago (in Chile) reported that
the number of Filipinos detained for drug trafficking in countries
under the embassy's jurisdiction is rising.

Based on the reports by the Foreign Affairs department's Office of the
Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs, 23 Filipinos were arrested
in Peru in 2010, 21 of them women. There are now some 43 Filipinos
detained for drug-related offenses in the countries covered by the
Philippine embassy in Chile namely Chile, Peru and Ecuador.

Esteban Conejos Jr., Foreign Affairs department undersecretary for
migrant affairs, warned of the "stiff penalties" imposed by other
countries on anyone caught carrying illegal drugs.

"We warn our countrymen from carrying drugs when traveling overseas
and especially not to accept packages which they suspect contain
drugs, and also to be wary of the modus operandi being used by
drug-trafficking syndicates. If they are caught, they will face very
dire circumstances," he said.

Conejos also said that many Filipinos who travel to countries such as
Thailand were enticed with lucrative "jobs" being offered by syndicate
members. While there, the Filipino drug mules were met by their
contact and given packages where the illegal drugs were concealed.

The Foreign Affairs department has requested the Philippine Drug
Enforcement Agency to continue its operations and redouble its efforts
in light of the increasing involvement of Filipinas as drug mules, he
said.