Pinay held as drug trafficking from Manila to HK resumes

The bag where the 700 grams of cocaine was found

A Filipina tourist was charged with drug trafficking in Tsuen Wan Court on Aug 1 for allegedly trying to bring in more than 700 grams of suspected cocaine into Hong Kong from Manila.

The arrest of Anne Ryan Cruz on July 30 at Chek Lap Kok was the first reported case of drug trafficking from Manila since the Duterte administration assumed power on July 1.

According to the brief facts read in court, Cruz was caught by customs officers at terminal 1 of the Hong Kong airport after being found with about 700 grams of cocaine in her luggage.

The drug is estimated to have a market value of $750,000.

A report in the HK Customs Department website said the arrested female who was not named, was 37 years old and had arrived from Manila where she worked as a telephone operator.

During a spot check of her luggage, officers noticed suspicious x-ray images inside her handbag. A thorough examination revealed two slabs of suspected cocaine, the first one weighing about 330 grams and the second, 390 grams, concealed in false compartments of the bag.
Magistrate Cheang Kei-hong adjourned the hearing of the case to Oct. 24 for further inquiry, and remanded Cruz in custody.

But he ordered the Filipina to return to the court on Aug 9 for a bail review.

The latest incident comes amid an intense campaign of the Philippine police against drug suppliers and users in the country that has left hundreds dead.

A Reuters report citing police records say 316 suspected drug dealers have been killed across the country during the July 1-27 period, 195 of them being vigilante killings. But human rights groups say the death toll is double the official number.

President Duterte scored a landslide win in the May national elections on an anti-drugs and anti-corruption platform. – Vir B. Lumicao