Aussie drug trafficker falls in Davao

FILE: NBI Director Dante A. Gierran identified the suspect as Markis Scott Turner a.k.a. Filip Novak. (PNA Photo)

MANILA — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Thursday announced the arrest of an Australian fugitive wanted for drug trafficking in his country.

NBI Director Dante A. Gierran identified the suspect as Markis Scott Turner a.k.a. Filip Novak.

Gierran said the Australian government sought the provisional arrest of Turner thru the Secretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ), pursuant to Article 9 of the Treaty of Extradition between Australia and the Republic of the Philippines (PH-AU Extradition Treaty).

To avoid prosecution, Turner left Australia in August 2015 and stayed in the Philippines and is currently living in the Island Garden City of Samal, Davao City using the name, Novak where he was arrested by operatives of the NBI-International Operations Division on September 15.

Between January 2009 and May 2011, Turner, allegedly in cahoots with some Colombian nationals, imported about 71.6 kilograms of cocaine into Australia.

The contraband was imported through his company, CQE Materials and Handling, where the drugs were hidden inside the drums of hydraulic oil and concealing the same by suspending the drugs at the midpoint of the oil inside the machinery. (PNA)