Manila: Two babies born to Filipino mothers were repatriated on Wednesday evening, after the infants were apparently used as unwitting accessories for smuggling drugs into China.
Rosabeth Villapando's 11 month-old infant and Karren Andojar' 14 month-old baby, arrived in Manila from Guangzhou accompanied by representatives from the Philippine Consulate General in Guangzhou, as well as representatives from the social welfare department the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
The circumstances of the two babies' repatriation were unusual. They were born while their mothers were in serving life imprisonment after a court in China sentenced them for life imprisonment for smuggling drugs.
Villapando and Andojar were separately caught smuggling heroin into China last September 26 and 27, 2008.
Between the two of them, authorities seized more than five kilogrammes of the illegal substance.
Both women were pregnant at the time of their arrest and authorities believed that the two tried to use their pregnancy to hide banned substance.
According to the DFA, the apprehension and trial of the duo proved China's resolve to implement the country's laws against smuggling drugs. He said that it serves to correct the impression that pregnant women caught smuggling drugs in China will not be detained by authorities.
