A 25-year-old Vietnamese woman wanted for drug-related offenses was deported back to her home country after being intercepted by Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers upon her arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1.
BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado identified the woman as Tran Thi Hoai Nam, a Vietnamese national who had been evading authorities after allegedly facilitating drug use activities in Vietnam in 2022 and escaped during a police operation.
Tran was among the passengers of a Philippine Airlines flight that arrived at NAIA Terminal 1 on the morning of April 29, 2026 from Phnom Penh.
BI Interpol Unit Chief Peter de Guzman confirmed that Tran is the subject of an active Interpol Red Notice issued by Vietnamese authorities for facilitation of illegal use of narcotic substances.
BI officers immediately reported to the National Central Bureau (NCB), which serves as the official liaison between Philippine law enforcement and Interpol in Manila, about the arrest of the Vietnamese woman.
Meanwhile, the Vietnamese Embassy in Manila formally requested Tran’s return to Vietnam to face prosecution and boarded a flight to Hanoi the following day.
Viado said Tran’s name has been included in the BI’s blacklist, effectively barring her from re-entering the country.