Kenyan asks court: Where’s my P181T?

The Kenyan woman arrested at the Mactan airport as a suspected drug courier wants her money back.

The lawyer of Asha Atieno Ogutu is seeking the release of the equivalent of P181,379, which was confiscated by the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) during last month’s arrest.

Ricardo Amores said his client was “not only innocent but a victim of the case she is facing. More so, the accused is in a foreign country and she doesn’t have even a single penny in her wallet.”

The motion will still be heard by Judge Toribio Quiwag of the Regional Trial Court Branch 27 in Lapu-Lapu City.

When Ogutu was arrested, it was first reported that she arrived in Cebu with plans for a vacation but no money in her wallet.

Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) later said they found three kilos of shabu in a false bottom of her suitcase and confiscated Ogutu’s money in the amount of US$3,700 (P157,927.21) and 2,000 Qatari riyal (P23,452.21).

Ogutu was arrested upon her arrival at the Mactan Cebu International Airport from Doha, Qatar, on board Qatar Airways Flight last Sept. 29.

She was charged with transporting illegal drugs. The NBI said the shabu, contained in two foil packs concealed in the lining of a trolley bag, were intended for another destination.

Amores said the drugs did not belong to the 24-year-old Kenyan national and that she was tourist who wanted “to explore any business opportunity.”

He said Ogutu’s money should be released by the NBI-7 since it is not an element of the crime she is accused of.

NBI-7 special investigator Arnel Pura said the prosecution would oppose any release of the money as “premature”.

“The money will prove that the accused had the capacity or the logistics to transport illegal drugs,” he said.

During the pre-trial conference last Thursday, Ogutu broke down in tears saying she missed her two children in Kenya.

She said she feels “stressed” but is confident she would be cleared of the charges against her. Reporter Ador Vincent S. Mayol and Correspondent Patricia Andrea Patena