Singaporean woman and daughter arrested in Manila airport for allegedly smuggling 14kg of cocaine worth US$1.3m

SINGAPORE: A Singaporean woman and her daughter were arrested at Manila’s main international airport on Thursday (Sep 28) for allegedly smuggling 14.36kg of cocaine worth 76 million pesos (US$1.3 million) into the country.

The Manila Times reported that the illegal drugs were seized by the Bureau of Customs. The pair were identified as 63-year-old restaurant waitress Siti Aishah Awang and her daughter Nur Alaviyah Hanaffe, 39, who works as a make-up artist.

They had arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in the capital city of the Philippines from Doha, Qatar, and were later detained after being profiled by custom officers.

Preliminary reports suggested that government officials in Manila discovered the cocaine concealed in packages such as cylindrical containers, biscuit tins and canisters, as well as in boxes placed under the suspects’ trolley and duffle bags.

The “white powdery substance”, which was later confirmed to be cocaine, were contained inside hundreds of pellets within the luggage and disguised as gifts, CNN Philippines reported.

The seized drugs and suspects were later handed over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency for custody and further investigation.

The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) in Singapore said in response to TODAY’s queries that it is aware of the case but would not comment while investigations by the Philippine authorities are ongoing.

“CNB will render any assistance required by our counterparts in their investigations … (and) would like to remind Singaporeans to stay clear away from drugs, locally and overseas,” it added.

This article was originally published in TODAY.