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BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency personnel and police in the Ilocos region caught two Nigerians using methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu at Barangay Pogo Grande, Dagupan City, Pangasinan Wednesday night.
Combined forces of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Regional Office 1 (PDEA RO1) and the Philippine National Police raided the foreigners’ spacious apartment after they were tipped of a nightly drug session in the area, Bismark Bengwayan, PDEA-Region 1 spokesperson, said.
The duo — 29-year-old Emmanuel Divine Ugochukwu and 30-year-old Stephen Samuel Anoruo — tested positive for drugs. Various drug paraphernalia were found scattered in the apartment while a plastic sachet of shabu and five grams of marijuana were recovered by authorities.
The two reportedly also invited neighbors to join them in their sessions.
Bengwayan said the duo entered the country as students but were lured into illegal drugs.
Auhtorities are investigating if the two are part of a drug syndicate.
PDEA suspects the West African Drug Syndicate (WADS) has begun operating in Northern Luzon and has been luring Filipina students by befriending them and later on asking them to become drug couriers.
