By Nancy Carvajal
(First of a Series)
Violet (not her real name) arrived from Malaysia at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminal three with a suitcase filled with shabu. With a hint of pride in her voice, she claimed that she was able to leave the airport without arousing suspicion from security personnel.
“The kilos of shabu I had in my suitcase were not detected by X-ray machines and drug sniffing dogs,” Violet boasted to Politiko in an exclusive interview. “I was able to retrieve my luggage from the conveyor belt after my plane landed. Then I left the airport without a hitch.”
To prove her most recent trip, Violet showed to Politiko her passport, which was stamped on the day she left Manila last month and when she returned from Malaysia.
Violet is a Filipina working for the West African Drug Syndicate (WADS) as a drug mule. She earns $3,000 for each trip, or roughly P170,000. It’s a windfall compared to the average P16,486 that time-rated workers earned monthly as of 2020, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
She said the fee for drug mules has doubled from $1,500 (around P85,050) since she first started a few years ago. The syndicate also takes care of their travel expenses, Violet added.
Money is Violet’s primary motivation for working as a drug mule despite the risks involved. Still fresh in the public’s mind is the case of Mary Jane Veloso, who was sentenced to death for carrying a suitcase lined with 2.6 kilograms of heroin in 2010.
Veloso was caught with the drug-filled luggage at the Audisucipto International Airport in Yogjakarta. Diplomatic efforts to spare her life are ongoing.
“There’s no coercion involved in smuggling drugs. I’m doing it because I want to. The syndicate doesn’t feel the need to force anyone. After all, its members say, there are always other Filipinas who would do the job for the money,” Violet said.
Violet said WADS packaged her luggage in such a way that the shabu packs will be hard to detect.
“The drugs were stuck to the side of the suitcase and on the false bottom. Clothes and personal things were provided to be put on top of the packs, which were wrapped and sealed so they would be hard to notice,” she said.
After failing to arouse suspicion in NAIA, Violet said she stayed at a nearby hotel because she had been instructed to transport the shabu to Zamboanga City.
“Another drug mule gave me a new plane ticket and pocket money. The next day, I checked in myself and my luggage at the airport and flew to Zamboanga City. Upon arrival, I gave the suitcase to an African contact, then left to catch a plane back to Manila,” she shared.
Despite working as a drug mule for a number of years, Violet said she has never found proof that law enforcers are working with syndicates to allow drug-filled luggage to pass undetected.
“So far, I haven’t seen anything that will make me think that law enforcers are in cahoots with WADS. Compare that to an African country I visited, where a uniformed policeman assisted me and checked my luggage at the airport to make sure the drug package was inside. The policeman made sure I wasn’t harassed,” Violet said.
The drug mule said that while she always travels alone, there are times when she would come across other Filipina drug mules on the same flight she’s on.
