Andres Rodriguez, 39, a Venezuelan national intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Sun, Dec 13, was carrying 92 cocaine pellets in his stomach. He had arrived from Abu Dhabi on board Philippine Airlines flight 657.
Operatives of the NAIA-Inter Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group were tipped off about Rodriguez being a drug mule.
The GMA News Online report noted: “Drug mules like Rodriguez are made to swallow balloons containing drugs, which are retrieved from their bodies on reaching their destination. In his case, each of the 92 pellets contained 13 grams of cocaine. All in all, Rodriguez’s cocaine haul had an estimated street value of PHP6.6 million.”
The report further revealed that “once the drug mule has arrived his destination, he is given laxatives so the balloons can pass through his body.”
The authorities are conducting further investigation to determine who Rodriguez is working for.
