RP navy arrests three RI illegals

RP navy arrests three RI illegals

PHILIPPINES: The Philippine navy has arrested three Indonesians for entering the country's southern waters without proper documents, a navy spokesman said on Tuesday.

Captain Geronimo Malabanan said a navy patrol ship intercepted the Indonesians' boat a few miles from the Philippine-Indonesian border on March 24.

"Seized from the suspects were nine sacks of dexametnasone, a drug for the brain, a steroid-type drug called pronicy and three boxes of Gudang Garam 9600 cigarettes," he said.

Malabanan said the boat was on its way to the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, where smuggled goods from Indonesia and Malaysia are rampantly sold.

The suspects were immediately turned over to Indonesian authorities in the border town of Marore after the Indonesian Navy was informed of the incident. -- DPA