By Vir B. Lumicao
A Filipina tourist who was caught at Chek
Lap Kok airport with more than five kilos of cocaine in her luggage appeared in
Tsuen Wan court on a drug trafficking charge on on Feb 16.
Rizza Mae L. Argamaso
was arrested on Feb. 7 upon her arrival from Cebu, said a report on the Customs
Department’s website, after officers discovered about 5.3 kilograms of
suspected cocaine in her luggage.
But other official
sources told The SUN the Filipina had flown in from Manila.
The drug was reportedly
found inside shoes, folders and handbags that 28-year-old Argamaso carried in
her luggage.
The prosecution applied
for an adjournment of the hearing as investigation was underway and it was
waiting for a report on a chemical test conducted on the seized drug.
Magistrate Jim Chun-ki
adjourned the hearing to April 15. The defense made no bail application and the
magistrate ordered Argamaso remanded in custody. Jim told the Filipina she may
apply for bail at the Court of First Instance.
Argamaso’s arrest came
as Customs authorities stepped up a crackdown on cross-boundary and transnational
drug trafficking at all of Hong Kong’s border control points, including the
airport, during the Lunar New Year.
Over a three-day
period, officers seized about 8 kilos of suspected cocaine, 5.8 kilos of
suspected cannabis resin and 2 kilos of suspected ketamine with a market value
of about $9.4 million, the Customs & Excise Department said on its website.
Argamaso was the third
to be arrested in four similar cases just before the Lunar New Year.
The first case involved
an incoming female passenger from Dubai on Feb 5. Customs officers found two
biscuit cans and four tea cans stuffed with 141 pellets of suspected cocaine
weighing a total of about 2.7 kilograms.
The arrested woman aged
36 claimed to be a businesswoman.
The second case
involved an incoming male passenger from Kolkata, India via Singapore on Feb 6.
During baggage examination, Customs officers found some foodstuff packages and
toothpaste in two carton boxes.
In-depth examination
led to the discovery of about 5.8 kilos of suspected cannabis resin concealed
in 14 packs of foodstuff and 21 pieces of toothpaste tubes. The arrested man,
aged 27, claimed to be a tailor.