Colombian ‘poops out’ P8.9-M cocaine

MANILA, Philippines — A Colombian man was arrested upon his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 from Dubai on Sunday for carrying 1,185 grams of cocaine in his body.

The cocaine, with an estimated street value of P8.89 million, was contained in 79 rubber pellets Alberto Pedraza Quijano “pooped out” starting on Monday, said Ismael Fajardo, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-National Capital Region (PDEA-NCR) director.

He said they acted on information provided by the US Homeland Security Investigation.

Fajardo said Quijano was sweating and very pale when he was pulled aside by operatives when his plane from Dubai landed at around 4:30 p.m.

An X-ray test on Quijano showed pellets in his intestines. 

Quijano was described by anti-narcotics agents as a frequent traveller who was a suspected “swallower,” smuggling cocaine by eating and defecating pellets.

He admitted to transporting illegal drugs to the Philippines for a fee of $4,000 per trip, with the illegal drugs likely coming from Peru or Brazil.

Fajardo said Quijano would receive directions from his local contact when and where he would poop out the drugs once his plane lands.

Meanwhile, PDEA operatives also seized half a kilo of shabu – with a street value of P2.5 million – from Mark Anthony Montelibano, 37, during a drug bust at the parking lot of a mall in Sta. Mesa, Manila yesterday afternoon.

Fajardo said Montelibano has links to convicted drug lords in the New Bilibid Prison. 

The suspects face charges for the violations of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.