Singaporean mother, daughter arrested for allegedly smuggling over 14kg of cocaine into Philippines

Two Singaporeans were arrested in the Philippines for smuggling 76.1 million pesos (S$1.83 million) worth of cocaine into the country.

Local authorities and Philippine media identified the mother-daughter duo as Siti Aishah Binte Wang, 63, a restaurant waitress, and Nur Alaviyah Binti Hanaffe, 39, a make-up artist, reported The Manila Times. 

The Bureau of Customs told the Manila Times that the two Singaporean women were profiled when they arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport via a Qatar Airlines flight from Doha on Thursday (Sept 28). 

They were caught for allegedly smuggling 14.36kg of "white powdered substance suspected to be cocaine", hidden in various types of containers packed under their luggage, said the airport inter-agency drug interdiction group. 

341 pellets were stuffed in the packaging of cookies and chips in the guise of "pasalubongs" (gifts), reported CNN Philippines.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency seized the drugs and are holding the two women in custody for further investigation. 

When questioned by Philippine media, Siti Aishah said: “I don’t know anything, because they said that this one is... nothing illegal.”

Her daughter added: “My mum already said that she doesn’t know anything. She doesn’t know what does it contain. That’s it. Thank you so much.”

The duo will be charged with violation of Republic Act (RA) 9165 or the Comprehensive Drug Act of 2002 and RA 10863 or the Customs Modernisation and Tariff Act, according to the Philippine News Agency. 

In response to AsiaOne's queries, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said that they are aware that two Singaporean women had been arrested in the Philippines for suspected drug-related offences.

"Investigations by the Filipino authorities are ongoing and it would not be appropriate to comment on this case at this moment," a CNB spokesperson said.

CNB added that they will render any assistance required by their counterparts in their investigations and also reminded Singaporeans to "stay clear away from drugs, locally and overseas".

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ashwini.balan@asiaone.com