Too many points to cover, so apologies for not quoting everyone in this reply...

Penny, you're right. there are two sides to every story. when I got my (oh, so long) email from this lady late last year, my reply was also very long and I would say in hindsight a little rude. And if she comes back to this forum and reads this then I am sure she will respond, although I doubt she will. But my point is that (aside from the tea bags) I took nothing! My intent when making the offer to make a delivery for her was simply because I thought she might want to send some personal items to her three sons back home.

To add some history to all this, she is the Aunt to my ex (through close friendship rather than blood) and was the person who tipped me off that my ex had cheated on me. I also had gotten to know one of her sons online and his (then) girlfriend and had met up with them a few times in Cebu.

I even took two of her sons and one of their girlfriends with me to Barili for the weekend and paid all their expenses and made sure they had plenty of food, drink and paid their way home and gave them money so that from the Bus terminal in Cebu they could get a taxi the rest of the way. I don't recall any money mentioned at this time, despite it being after I had already handed over the parcels..

when I was in Valencia, Mindanao. I spoke with her on Yahoo from an internet cafe and she then informed me for the first time there was money in those bags and that one of her sons (or a cousin) was complaining that theirs was missing. I thought little of it, assuming that either it was a mistake on either her part having not sent enough money or had given too much to another within their parcel/bag.

In all I met all three of her sons. On my final day I met her eldest who brought along the DVD/KTV player who put the items in my case as I checked out of the Marriott (I was their watching him and helping to tuck the DVD player in, wrapping it in clothes to shield it a little).

When I sent my long email reply I also sent a photo of the receipt or seizure notice I was given from the customs officer, clearly showing the items listed. However, since my photograph of this did not have my name on it (I was too eager to capture the HM customs logo and the listed items), she has taken this as evidence that I somehow obtained a seizure notice from customs and used it as a decoy of sorts

Also, because I found a memory card in the back of the suitcase this now appears as some kind of proof that I stole from her. How this works logically, is beyond me