Japanese National Arrested at the airport for illegal drugs now under PDEA custody

Miami
September 15, 2008
Story 2: Japanese National Arrested at the airport for illegal drugs now under PDEA custody

A Japanese woman national was arrested for bringing shabu while passing through the Final Security Checkpoint 2 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

The suspect was identified as Hitomi Hasegawa, 50, female, unemployed and a resident of Kumano-Sho, Aki-Gun, Japan. Hasegawa is bound for Fukuoka, when she was arrested, flight number PR-426.

According to Chief Supt. Aquilino Morada, Chief of Aviation Security Group, Hasegawa was arrested after she was manually search (body search) by the security officers doing the search at Final Security Checkpoint 2 at around 12:40 pm of September 14. Hasegawa was able to pass through the first checkpoint because body search is not required there.

The security found the shabu, in a plastic with packaging tape, and it is being tape on his lower abdomen skin. The shabu weigh 473.8 grams or almost ½ kilo.

PDEA Director General Dionisio Santiago said the estimate amount of the shabu will be about Php4 million pesos. He added that Hasegawa is their first female Japanese suspect in possessing illegal drugs.

Morada said, “We think that she is also checking if she can go out of the country possessing illegal drugs being taped on her body. Maybe she thought that the security will not be curious about it, but our security is very strict in implementing checkpoints.”

Morada added, “Maybe the suspect is practicing on how she can go in and out of our country because her passport was issued to her last August 8, 2008 and she already travelled twice in our country.”

Based on her flight record, Hasegawa first came in the Philippines last August 12, then back to Japan in August 28. Then she arrived again in September 11 then about to leave the Philippines last September 14, the date that she was arrested.

The Aviation Security group, turned over Hasegawa to the PDEA September 15, 10:00 am, she is now under the custody of PDEA. Santiago said they are having difficulty on talking to Hasegawa because Hasegawa claims she cannot understand English, though the PDEA already now has interpreter.

Santiago added that Hasegawa resulted negative to drug test they conducted. They are now looking at the angle that the suspect might be a courier of shabu of a drug syndicate in Japan.