AUSTRALIAN ARRESTED ON POTENTIAL DEATH-PENALTY OFFENSE

MANILA, Philippines -- An Australian man has been caught with 230
grams (8.1 ounces) of methamphetamine during a raid on his house,
police said Saturday.

Under the Philippine law, possesion of more than 200 grams (seven
ounces) of the drug known locally as shabu is a non-bailable offense
punishable by death through lethal injection.

John B. Martin, a native of Adelaide, was also found with a pistol and
drug paraphernalia when police on Thursday raided his house in the
Josefa subdivision of Angeles City, about 60 kilometers (40 miles)
from Manila, said superintendent Nestor Bernandino, head of the
Angeles City Regional Anti-Illegal Drugs Task Force.

He said the three plastic bags of shabu were worth 460,000 pesos (dlrs
8,916) and that charges of illegal possession of drugs, firearms and
ammunition will be filed against Martin.