Malaysian arrested in Philippines for drugs after US tipoff

MANILA, Philippines—Philippine authorities said Wednesday a tipoff from the U.

S. Drug Enforcement Administration allowed them to arrest a Malaysian man who allegedly tried to smuggle 4.

6 kilograms (10 pounds) of suspected cocaine into the country.

Bureau of Customs officials presented Nasir Uddin Bin Mohd Hasnan to the media at Manila’s international airport, where he was arrested on Wednesday. The 22-year-old, wearing a hooded jacket, covered his face with his hands as television cameras rolled.

Officials said he was arrested Monday after arriving on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa and Togo.

They said he was carrying in his bag several canisters of chocolates containing 216 pieces of pellets of alleged cocaine valued at 23 million pesos ($468,000).