NBI files case vs drug mule who ingested 60 ‘shabu’ capsules

A foreigner who tried to smuggle 60 capsules which contained methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu” into the country by ingesting them has been charged with transporting illegal drugs.

The complaint against Akilou Alido Bassi, a 30-year-old citizen from the Republic of Benin in West Africa, was filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) at the Manila regional trial court.

Jonathan Galicia, head of the NBI Reaction, Arrest and Interdiction Division, earlier said that Bassi, a member of the West African drug syndicate, swallowed 40 of the capsules while the rest were inserted into his anus.

Bassi was taken into questioning by immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on June 7 after he could not tell them where he was going or who he was going to stay with during his visit to Manila.

He was later turned over for investigation to the NBI but on the way to the bureau’s headquarters, Bassi appeared sick and uneasy while holding onto his stomach. He was brought to a hospital for an examination and an X-ray revealed the presence of several capsules in his stomach.

He later passed the capsules which were tested and found to contain shabu. Based on its investigation, the NBI determined that the Beninese was carrying inside his body 60 capsules which contained a total of 751 grams of shabu with an estimated value of up to P2 million.

The foreigner told the NBI that the drug syndicate had promised to pay him $4,000 for a “successful delivery.”