OZAMIZ CITY—Straight from his mouth,
City Police Chief Insp. Jovie Espenido said Vice Mayor Nova Princess Echavez swallowed
a flash drive containing a supposed list of her family's illegal transactions
when she was arrested.
A video uploaded and shared by the
YouTube channel GMA News showed Echavez caught on camera getting something from
her bag and put it into her mouth immediately.
The video was taken during the raid
conducted by the authorities on Echavez’s house last July 30.
Closer look showed Echavez hiding something
tightly on her palms and the police and she wrestles as the authority was
trying hard to get it from her.
As they were able to get it from
her, they discovered that it was just a packet containing something that is
color white after which the cops immediately handcuffed her.
"Hindi naman iyun papel, micro
ano, iyung maliit bang USB. Naisubo niya. Hanggang ngayon siguro nasa tiyan pa
niya... Mga transaksyon iyun," Espenido said in an interview with Noli de Castro
of DZMM, this morning, Aug. 9.
A computer expert told Philippine
Preview in a huddle that USB drives sometimes have heavy metals and sharp edges
and that those who try to swallow it should consider going to the doctor.
He added that it’s difficult to
determine how serious this person who swallowed would become-- at least it was an
interesting scenario but some USB drives are pretty resilient.
Nothing good can come from
swallowing a USB. The metals and semiconductors are not good to ingest, he
added. (MICHAEL MEDINA)