Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) with the help of the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) arrested two overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and confiscated some 887.8 grams of heroin in Pasay City. This developed as Department of Justice (DoJ) Secretary Agnes Devanadera disclosed on Tuesday that the Philippines is requesting for full documentation of the report of deaths of mules following the rupture of capsules which they swallowed to hide the heroin in transporting these to other countries.

NBI Director lawyer Nestor M. Mantaring identified the suspects as Mary Jane Turalde Vargas, 28, kindergarten teacher at Guming, Shenzhen and resident of Guming Shenzhen, Tao Jin Lu, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China (PROC) and Salvador Agunday alberto II, 30, teacher of Shanwei College, Xiang Chang Road, Shanwei City, Guangdong Province, People’s Republic of China and resident of 42 Xiang Chang Road, Shanwei City, Guangdong Province, PROC.

They are facing charges for violation of Section 5 (transportation of dangerous drugs) of the RA 9165 otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act in 2002.

Ilocos Norte Representative Roquito Ablan and Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) Chairman Vicente Sotto III, who also attended the press conference, expressed alarm of increasing number of arrested Filipino mules in China, Brazil and other countries.

A report of the NBI Anti-Illegal Drugs Task Force (AIDTF) under Deputy Director for Intelligence Services lawyer Ruel Lasala and the Reaction, Arrest and Interdiction Division (RAID) under lawyer Roel Bolivar, revealed that the continuous efforts against the West African Drugs Syndicate (WADS) and its Filipino cohorts led to the arrest of the two suspects while in the act of allegedly transporting illegal drugs. (with report from Katherine May del Rosario/trainee)