THE arrest of the Kenyan woman caught at the Mactan airport with shabu in her suitcase is a strong signal to drug traffickers who see the province as a transshipment point for their illegal trade.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama commended the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and other law enforcement agencies for the arrest of 24-year-old Asha Atieno Ogutu and the confiscation of three kilos of shabu in her luggage.
Ogutu, who flew in from Doha, Qatar, was travelling alone.
The NBI said they believe she was a courier of a drug syndicate they have been tracking.
She is now under NBI custody. No visitors came to see her since her arrest.
A complaint for transporting illegal drugs was filed against her at the Lapu Lapu City Prosecutors Office last Friday.
Ogutu denied ownership of the shabu and said she was a dealer of fruits in her native country.
If proven to have violated the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, Ogutu faces life imprisonment and a fine ranging from half a million pesos to P10 million. The offense is nonbailable. Doris C. Bongcac and Ador Vincent Mayol