An American septuagenarian was arrested for allegedly trying smuggle into the country through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) 3.7 kilos of cocaine worth P19.6 million.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Wednesday identified the suspect as Stephen Joseph Szuhar, 75, a retired casino manager.
Szuhar arrived at the Customs International Arrival Area in NAIA Terminal 3 at around 8 p.m. Tuesday via Qatar Airways Flight QR 932 from Doha, Qatar.
Subsequent screening and inspection of Szuhar’s luggage yielded the illegal substance.
Also seized from the suspect were one black luggage containing assorted clothes, several pieces of carbon paper, and three pieces of improvised pouches made of packaging tape each containing a white powdering substance.
The seized pieces of evidence have been submitted to the PDEA Laboratory for further processing.