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Friday, March 29, 2024

Ex-BoC official vows to clear name from drug raps

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A former high-ranking official of the Bureau of Customs on Tuesday vowed to seek for the dismissal of the complaint for conspiracy to import illegal drugs and other charges filed against him and 11 others, in connection with the smuggling into the country of the P6.4 billion worth of shabu shipment last May.

Resigned BOC-Intelligence and Investigation Service chief, Col. Neil Anthony Estrella stressed that the charges filed against him by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency deliberately twisted the facts surrounding the shabu contraband in order to pin him down and his co-respondents.

“This is not something we can ignore. Our lives are at stake here. This are very serious allegations based on lies,” Estrella said in a press conference.

Estrella also lamented the apparent lack of support coming from the government despite their sincere efforts to fulfill their duties in the anti-drug campaign of President Rodrigo Duterte.

“My men, my friends and my family are asking why it seems we are not getting strong support coming from the government. I cannot answer them categorically because this is part of our job,” Estrella stressed.

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The former BoC official vowed to go into hiding if the DoJ will find probable cause to indict him for the said charges.

“These are non-bailable offenses. I don’t intend to spend my life in jail for the things I did not even commit,” Estrella said, adding that he would be “a fugitive from justice” if the case is filed against us.

Estrella characterized as “a malicious mix of inaccuracies and half-truths” the PDEA complaint filed with the Department of Justice against the shipment’s importers and cargo forwarders, as well as BoC and National Bureau of Investigation personnel who participated in the successful operation to seize the shipment and apprehend the responsible parties.

Estrella , former BoC chief Nicanor Faeldon and 10 other customs officials have been charged before the DoJ with graft, conspiring to import illegal drugs, coddling drug traffickers, negligence and tolerance.

Other respondents in the PDEA complaint are: BoC directors Milo Maestrecampo; intelligence officers Joel Pinawin and Oliver Valiente; Manila International Container Port district collector lawyer Vincent Phillip Maronilla; Faeldon’s fiance, lawyer Jeline Maree Magsuci; and BOC employees Alexandra Ventura, Randolph Cabansag, Dennis Maniego, Dennis Cabildo and John Edillor.

The PDEA complaint has been consolidated with the drug smuggling complaint filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) against the importers and brokers of the shipment, which is already undergoing preliminary investigation before the DOJ.

The NBI complaint named as respondents businessman Dong Yi Shen alias “Kenneth Dong” Chen Min and Jhu Ming Jyun, both Taiwanese nationals; Chinese nationals Chen Ju Long alias “Richard Tan” or “Richard Chen,” chairman of general manager of Philippine Hongfei Logistics Group of Companies Inc., and Li Guang Feng, alias “Manny Li”; customs brokers Mark Ruben Taguba II and Teejay Marcellana; and Eirene Mae Agustino Tatad, the sole proprietor of EMT Trading which was identified as the consignee for the shabu shipment that was declared as general merchandise and its content was certified by China’s Customs.

They are facing charges of importation of dangerous drugs under Section 4 of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

In its complaint, the NBI claimed that the respondents responsible for the importation of the illegal drugs from China and which were recovered last May by authorities inside the warehouse of Hongfei Logistics Group of Companies in Valenzuela City which is owned by Richard Chen.

The respondents in the PDEA complaint have already been subpoenaed by the DOJ to appear in the preliminary investigation before its panel of prosecutors on October 5.

Estrella said he would file a counter-affidavit to answer all the allegations against him and at the same time seek the immediate dismissal of the complaint.

“We are confident to win this case, PDEA did not present any solid evidence except all speculations and assumptions,” Estrella said.

Estrella noted that the documents in his possession would debunk the claim of PDEA that the CIIS had acted irregularly when it led the anti-smuggling operation to stop the drug shipment after a tip that the agency received last May 25 by the China Customs Intelligence group.

Estrella insisted the CIIS operation to validate information furnished by China customs authorities was within its ambit to engage in anti-smuggling operations.

He noted that Richard Chen, the owner of the warehouse who the Chinese authorities first contacted to warn of the possible drug shipment, coordinated with the CIIS and signed a waiver allowing the inspection of the subject shipment in his warehouse.

“Thus, there was no need for a search warrant, which PDEA claims is one of the irregularities of our operation. We will also show to the DOJ the many instances where law enforcement agencies, in the interest of expediency and to catch the perpetrators before they absconded, ran their own anti-drug operation even without the initial participation of PDEA,” Estrella explained.

The former BOC official said when the CIIS had validated the presence of drugs in the suspect shipment, it immediately coordinated with the PDEA, as admitted by PDEA in its complaint.

Estrella also denied the PDEA’s allegations in the complaint that its personnel had raised objections on-site on the CIIS operation to seize and safeguard the drugs.

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