Taiwanese women detained in Philippines for drug offenses

[Jar Jar Binks]

Taiwanese women detained in Philippines for drug offenses

2014/03/14 19:04:54

Manila, March 14 (CNA) Two Taiwanese women were arrested earlier this week by Philippine authorities on Boracay Island, a popular vacation spot in the Philippines, on charges of possessing and selling illegal drugs.

According to a report by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the two women, both of whom are tour guides, are currently being detained by the Philippine authorities on the island.

The PDEA began monitoring the pair last year and arrested them at their apartment Wednesday after plain-clothes agents posing as their clients bought amphetamines from them.

The PDEA said they will be charged with possession and sale of narcotics.

Taiwan's representative office in the Philippines, meanwhile, has enacted a mechanism requiring that the Philippine authorities protect the basic human and legal rights of the two Taiwanese nationals.

Boracay, a small island located about 315 km south of Manila, is a popular tourist destination. Last year, Taiwanese tourists made nearly 40,000 visits there, making the country Boracay's third-largest tourism source.

(By Emerson Lin and Flor Wang)