Kenyan ‘drug mule’ convicted, draws life term

CEBU CITY – A Kenyan woman has been convicted of drug smuggling by a Lapu-Lapu City court and sentenced to life in prison.

Judge Toribio Quiwag, of the Lapu-Lapu regional trial ccourt Branch 27, ordered Asha Atieno Oguto, 25, jailed for life for attempting to smuggle at least 3 kilograms of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) on Sept. 29, 2011.

“In contrast to the overwhelming evidence of the prosecution, accused Oguto merely raised the defense of denial,” said the decision written by Quiwag.

Denial, said the judge, “is a common and standard defense ploy.”

Quiwag also ordered Oguto to pay a P3-million fine.

Oguto was arrested by the agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) when she arrived at the Mactan Cebu International Airport on board a flight from Doha, Qatar.

The agents found two packs of shabu, weighing at least 1.5 kg each and wrapped in foil, concealed in the lining of one of Oguto’s bags.

Oguto said she didn’t know drugs were in her luggage, saying she was sent to Cebu on a vacation paid for by a friend. As the judge’s decision was being read in court, Oguto collapsed and lost consciousness.