South Africa routes ‘red flag’ for drugs

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February 24, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Following the recent arrest of drug couriers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), several routes from South Africa were tagged as “red flags” by the police Aviation Security Group.

Avsegroup spokesman Lt. Col. Harold Tosino said some of the suspects who were apprehended at the NAIA came from Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa.

“South Africa is considered a source of illegal drugs,” Tosino said.

From Feb. 11 to 15, illegal drugs valued at P138.53 million were intercepted at the NAIA from foreigners and a Filipina suspected to be drug couriers.

Among the suspects is a 77-year-old German who yielded 8.14 kilos of shabu worth P55.38 million.

Records showed that the German flew to Manila from Johannesburg with a connecting flight to Hong Kong.

“In all the cases, the suspects had one thing in common: the bags they carried were given to them by other people in exchange for money,” Tosino said.

In Parañaque, three Pakistanis were arrested after anti-narcotics agents raided a house in Barangay Sun Valley on Sunday.

A large shipment of illegal drugs and counterfeit pharmaceuticals were seized in the operation, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said.

The suspects identified only as Waseem, Mohy and Salmar are being held on drug charges.

Arvin Targa, spokesman for the PDEA-National Capital Region, said anti-narcotics agents posed as buyers and negotiated with the suspects for the sale of sedatives for P120,000.