Mark Taguba —NIÑO JESUSORBETA
Mark Taguba, who linked Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte to smuggling, and eight others have been charged with drug trafficking by the National Bureau of Investigation over the seized P6.4 billion worth of illegal drugs from China.
The smuggling of the illegal drug into the country has so far led to two separate legislative inquiries and the courtesy resignation of two senior officials of the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
It also put the spotlight on the incessant unlawful transactions in the BOC, long regarded as one of the most corrupt state agencies.
But not a single customs official was included in the criminal case, which was brought to the Department of Justice on Monday, nearly three months after the “shabu” was recovered from a warehouse in Valenzuela City.
Besides Taguba, named respondents were businessman Kenneth Dong, warehouse owner Richard Chen, Taiwanese Chen Min and Jhu Ming Yun, Teejay Marcellana, Li Guang Feng, alias Manny Li, Eirene Mae Tatad and Fidel Anoche Dee.
They were charged with violation of Section 4 of Republic Act No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, for the “importation of dangerous drugs and/or controlled precursors and essential chemicals.”
A separate complaint for violation of Section 28 of Republic Act No. 9280, or the Customs Brokers Act of 2004, were also lodged against Taguba, Dong and Li for “unauthorized practice of customs broker profession.”
“Subjects, through their indispensable cooperation, caused the importation of five wooden crates from China … Thus, in violation of Section 4 of RA 9165 … for importation of dangerous drugs,” read a portion of the NBI complaint.
The NBI said the wooden boxes contained a total of 605 plastic bags filled with 603 kilograms of shabu, or cyrstal meth, with a street value of P6.4 billion.
In addition to the official report on the confiscated shabu, the NBI attached the affidavits executed by a number of witnesses, who testified in the congressional hearings, as evidence against the accused.