PDEA chief wants zero govt help for ‘drug mules’

Filipinos who allow themselves to be used as “drug mules" by foreign drug syndicates do not deserve the help of the government, the head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said.

“We will recommend that the Philippine government will no longer intervene in their cases. A number of those caught transporting illegal drugs were proven to be knowledgeable of their acts," said PDEA Director General Dionisio Santiago in a statement.

He noted that the government is not remiss in its duty to warn Filipinos, especially those who are seeking employment abroad, of the dangers of allowing themselves to be used as drug couriers by international syndicates. (Read: Number of Filipino drug mules increasing)

A number of Filipinos had been arrested in other countries for drug trafficking, the latest of whom was Maria Elenita Rivera. She was arrested Bangkok last March 22 for attempting to smuggle 3.2 kilograms of cocaine.

Santiago said these Filipinos are usually employed by West African drug groups to send their shipments of illegal drugs to their clients in Asia, Middle East and South America.

The issue of drug mules was part of the agenda during the recent International Drug Enforcement Conference Far East Regional Working Group (IDEC-FERWG) meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, that was president by Santiago, the group’s current chairman.

During the meeting, Santiago stressed to representatives of the 17 member-countries the need to heighten their alert on the increasing participation of West African drug syndicates in global drug trafficking activities. He said these groups should be part of the major operational targets of the respective drug law enforcement agencies of the IDEC-FERWG countries.

“This is a persistent and continuing collaborative effort. While we are domestically intensifying our drug law enforcement operations against high value targets, we are also holding pro-active bilateral and multi-lateral meetings with fellow stakeholders to come up with effective and efficient countermeasures," Santiago, a former military general, said. - KBK, GMANews.TV

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