A sharp-nosed drug sniffer dog helped to catch a South African passenger allegedly smuggling an estimated 2.2 million USD worth of crystal meth at a Philippine airport.

Authorities seized around 17.6 kilograms of contraband from suspected drug courier Pietro Aliquo, 58, at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Cebu province on February 1 after the Belgian Malinois named Bulik allegedly smelled the scent of the substances.

Pietro had flown in from Doha, Qatar, and raised suspicions when x-ray scans revealed his bags' contents wrapped in thick plastic.

Customs officers sought help from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency's (PDEA) K-9 unit, with Bulik being trotted out to inspect the luggage.

Cops made the arrest when the trained pooch allegedly detected the presence of drugs inside.

In a statement, PDEA said: 'A thorough check of the three items led to the discovery of a total of 10 packs of suspected shabu weighing around 17,699 grams worth PHP120,353,200 in hidden compartments.'

PDEA-7 information officer Leia Alcantara told local media: 'What triggered suspicions was when airport operatives opened the luggage and emptied the clothes, it was still heavy. So when they put the luggage again through the x-ray, they noticed that something was really concealed.'

Police believe the packages may have come from an African drug syndicate whose operations have reached the Philippines.

Pietro claimed he did not know he was delivering drugs, saying he had just been told to hand the bags over to an unidentified person in Cebu.

The meth packets have been sent to a PDEA laboratory for chemical analysis.

Police said Pietro was remanded in custody to be charged for violations of the country's Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.