Elderly Chinese-American nabbed with 2.3 kg cocaine at Clark airport

CLARK FREEPORT, Philippines – Philippine authorities arrested on Sunday night, August 28, a senior Chinese-American man for possession of 2.3 kilos of high grade cocaine after landing at the Clark International Airport (CRK).

Allan Soo Hoo, 68, arrived on board the Dubai-Cebu-Clark Emirates flight 338 around 8 pm. Authorities arrested him at around 9 pm, said Acting Clark International Airport Corporation president Alexander Cauguiran. 

“This gentleman is using a US passport. He is an American citizen of Chinese descent. His name is Allan Soo Hoo. Members of the anti-drug inter-agency task force, particularly those from PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency) saw this man who seemed restless. It turned out that there were two plastic bags of cocaine in the secret pockets of his hand-carry bag,” Cauguiran said.

A 4-year-old German Malinois named “Buddy,” which is handled by a PDEA personnel, sniffed the cocaine from the foreigner’s bag and sat down – a signal that it had discovered illegal drugs. This prompted security personnel to carefully x-ray his bag and saw two suspicious looking objects.

When the bag was opened, two plastic bags of cocaine were found tucked inside the secret compartment.

On Monday afternoon, August 29, PDEA Region III information officer Glen Guillermo said it was confirmed in a laboratory test that substance was high grade cocaine with a street value of around P16 million.

Cauguiran said Bureau of Immigration records show that it was Soo Hoo’s first time travel to the Philippines as a tourist.

He said the inter-agency anti-drug task force had been operating at the CRK in response to intelligence reports that some drug syndicates were planning to use the airport as drug transhipment port.

The Chinese-American suspect is facing charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. – Rappler.com