Call center agent jailed over drugs case
The hidden compartments in Cruz's handbag (Hong Kong Customs photo).
A Filipina call center agent who was caught at the Hong Kong International Airport in 2016 with an estimated $690,000-worth of cocaine was sentenced to 18 and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to a drug trafficking charge.
In sentencing A. R. S. Cruz on June 6, Court of First Instance Justice Albert Wong reduced the sentence to 12 years and three months following the defendant’s guilty plea and in consideration of her circumstances being a single mother and the sole breadwinner of her family.
The discount given was one third of the original sentence and an additional one-month reduction.
Mitigating, Cruz’s lawyer told the court, the 38-year-old Filipina pleaded guilty at the first opportunity, indicating her “remorse”.
“She is single and has one daughter. She is a high school graduate and was also brought up alone by her mother,” the lawyer said.
After finishing secondary school, Cruz then worked as a saleslady and a waitress, before securing a job as a call center agent.
“The defendant’s daughter is now 20 years old. She broke up with the daughter’s father when she was pregnant with the child. The daughter is now a university student, and the defendant was not able to pay the tuition fee,” he said.
Justice Wong said that in meting out the sentence, he also considered the “international element” of the crime, enhancing the jail term by 12 months.
On Apr. 18, Cruz pleaded guilty to a charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug at the Eastern Magistracy Courts.
Magistrate Jason Wan Siu-ming told the defendant her case would be transferred to the High Court for sentencing.
Judge Wan asked Cruz whether her guilty plea was made voluntarily, to which the Filipina said “yes, your honor.”
Prosecution alleged Cruz came to Hong Kong on July 30,2016, and was intercepted by Customs agents at the Chek Lap Kok Airport. When her handbag was searched, the agents found hidden pockets containing three packets of suspicious substance.
Upon checking, the substance was found to be 610 grams of solid substance, containing 508 grams of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $694, 549.
When asked by investigators, Cruz told them she did not know about the handbag’s hidden pockets and she bought it for P400 from her friend named Jenny.
Cruz also told investigators she came to Hong Kong for shopping. She had cash of US$200 and P2,100 with her.
During a video recording interview, Cruz said she only came to Hong Kong for shopping and for relaxation.
She bought her own plane ticket, and was booked to stay at the Regal Kowloon Hotel.
Cebu Pacific records showed Cruz was supposed to fly back to Manila on Aug. 1, 2016, but the Regal Kowloon Hotel said the defendant’s hotel booking was invalid.