A Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) convicted customs broker Mark Taguba II and three others in connection with the May 2017 smuggling of PHP6.4 billion worth of shabu.
In an 88-page decision, Judge Alma Crispina Lacorte of Manila RTC Branch 21 sentenced Taguba and his co-accused to reclusion perpetua (20 to 40 years imprisonment) and ordered them to pay PHP50 million for each of the three complaints covered in the consolidated decision.
Also found guilty for violation of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act were Eirene Mae Tatad, Fidel Dee and Dong Yi Shen, alias “Kenneth Dong.”
Lacorte said the other accused in the case remained at-large and have yet to be arraigned.
They were identified as Teejay Marcellana, Chen Julong, Richard Tan (alias Richard Chen), Chen I-Min, Jhu Ming Jyun, and Li Guang Fend (alias Manny Li).
The case involved the smuggling of illegal drugs weighing 602.279 kilograms from China that were hidden in five metal cylinders at a Valenzuela City warehouse where they were taken from the Manila International Container Port (MICP) in Port Area.
Taguba owned Golden Strike Logistic, Inc., the trucking service which delivered container van MCLU6001881 carrying the illegal drugs from the MICP to the warehouse of Hong Fei Logistics, where Chen Julong is general manager.
He also facilitated the release of the shipment from the Bureau of Customs and hired the services of Marcellana.
Meanwhile, Tatad owned EMT Trading, the importer/consignee of MCLU6001881.
She allowed her company to be used by Taguba for a fee as a consignee for hire.
Dong claimed he met Li at a social function and introduced him to Taguba to talk about setting up an import processing business for Chinese businessmen.
Dong said that before the seizure on May 26, 2017, Taguba delivered eleven containers imported from China to Hongfei Logistics Company between February to April of the same year.
Upon inspection at the warehouse, MCLU6001881 showed to contain machine parts, groceries and five wooden crates.
The five wooden crates had a paper addressed to Fidel Dee.
Once opened, the wooden crates contained metal cylinders where the contrabands in plastic bags were hidden.
Lacorte said the importation of the subject container MCLU6001881 was “accomplished with the indispensable participation of accused Dong, Taguba, Tatad, and Dee.” (PNA)
