<cite>By Agence France-Presse, </cite> Updated: 8/18/2010
Suspected Malaysian drug trafficker caught in Philippines
Teoh Chee Keong was taken into custody shortly after arriving from Bangkok when customs officials found half of the drugs stashed in his luggage. -- PHOTO: AFP
A Malaysian man was arrested at the Philippines' main airport Wednesday as he tried to smuggle in 14 kilos (30.8 pounds) of methamphetamines, but an accomplice escaped, police said.
Teoh Chee Keong was taken into custody shortly after arriving from Bangkok when customs officials found half of the drugs stashed in his luggage, said Derrick Carreon, spokesman for the national anti-drugs agency. The other half was found inside a bag on the luggage carousel apparently abandoned by his compatriot, Richard Oh, who had already cleared customs and managed to flee the airport, Carreon told AFP.
"It's a big amount of drugs to try and smuggle. They were either stupid or were very confident," Carreon said. Carreon said that, judging from the amount of drugs Keong and Oh had allegedly tried to import, he believed they had been working with corrupt airport officials. "There were probably some associates in the airport that they were in contact with," he said.
A spokesman for the Malaysian embassy declined to comment on the arrest. Methamphetamine hydrochloride is a highly addictive stimulant more popularly known as "ice" or "shabu" in the Philippines. The government's anti-drugs agency says the country is a major trans-shipment hub for drug traffickers operating in Southeast Asia. It says drug traffickers are also known to work with corrupt immigration and customs officials.
