A SENATOR has called to intensify the efforts in cracking down on criminal syndicates using Filipinos as drug mules.
“This incident highlights the urgent need to crack down on criminal syndicates operating in the country that recruit drug mules under the guise of overseas employment,” Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian said in a statement on Sunday.
Last week, the National Bureau of Investigation reported that they had rescued two Filipinas in Malaysia after being recruited by a syndicate to be drug mules.
The agency said that the women were recruited by an African drug syndicate to transport a package, suspected to contain illegal drugs, from Malaysia to Hong Kong.
Mr. Gatchalian said that there is a need for the country’s enforcement agencies to coordinate with its counterparts abroad to crack down on drug trafficking.
“The incident also emphasizes the need for the NBI and other law enforcement agencies to coordinate closely with their overseas counterparts in combating drug trafficking and other transnational crimes victimizing hapless Filipinos in search of employment opportunities abroad,” he added.
He said that other government agencies like the Departments of Migrant Workers, Foreign Affairs, and the Interagency Council Against Trafficking should step up their efforts to “protect prospective overseas Filipino workers from falling victim to crimes such as human and drug trafficking.” — Adrian H. Halili