A JOINT operation by the National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, and Bureau of Customs led to the arrest and filing of cases against five individuals and the seizure of more than 400 kilos of shabu from Pakistan worth P2.7 billion.
NBI Director Jaime Santiago said the five – Oscar Campo Berba, Kevin Lee Manuel Arrio, Richard Perlado Aguantar, Karen Villaflor Sacro, and Rey Baysa Gujilde – “mutually confederated and conspired with one another, employing multiple layering to avoid being identified, in importing, bringing into the country said illegal drugs.’
Santiago said Berba was the consignee of the illegal drugs, Arrio and Aguantar are Custom brokers, while Sacro is the chairperson of the freight forwarding company, Ark Global Movers.
Gujilde, on the other hand, is the president of Ark Global Movers.
Santiago said the suspects were arrested based on their roles in facilitating the entry of 404.95 kilos of shabu concealed in boxes of food products declared as vermicelli and custard sauce valued at around P2.7 billion. He said they used layers of paperwork and groundwork to hide the contraband among legitimate products.
He said charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 as well as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act were filed against the five before the Manila Regional Trial Court.
Santiago said the operation last January 23 started when they received information about a drug shipment from Pakistan, prompting Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla to form a team from the NBI, PDEA, BOC and the National Prosecution Service.
“Pakistan has been very cooperative. Sa pakikipagtulungan nila ay nakuha natin ang karagdagang impormasyon (With their cooperation, we got more information),” Santiago said in a press briefing, adding the shipper or exporter of the cargo was Ayan Enterprise Trading and Logistics and the consignee was Red Shinting Consumer Goods Trading in Las Pinas City.
Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service Verne Enciso said they requested an alert order against the shipment after receiving the information from the NBI which led to the examination of food boxes, resulting in the discovery of the illegal drugs.
“After receiving derogatory information from our counterparts, we promptly requested the issuance of an alert order and conducted a physical examination of the subject shipment. Our agents discovered white crystalline substances concealed within the packaging of Kirkland Organic Dried Mango,” Enciso said.
Of the 698 boxes in the shipment, 58 were found to conceal 407 packs of illegal drugs.
Customs Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Juvymax Uy said the illegal drugs were turned over to the custody of PDEA for further laboratory analysis and custody.
Police seized P81,600 worth of suspected dangerous drugs and a firearm from a man nabbed in a buy-bust operation in Antipolo City Wednesday night.
Col. Felipe Maraggun, Rizal Provincial Police Office (PPO) director, identified the suspect as alias Kayo, of legal age, a resident of the City.
Seized from him were eight sachets containing more or less than 12 grams of suspected shabu and a .38 revolver with four bullets. – Christian Oineza
