Mark Taguba II testifying at the Senate. (File photo by GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Customs fixer Mark Ruben Taguba II has surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) operatives following the issuance of a court order for his arrest in connection with a P6.4 billion shipment of crystal meth (shabu) from China that slipped through the Bureau of Customs.
In a text message to INQUIRER.net, NBI spokesman Ferdinand Lavin confirmed that Taguba was served his arrest warrant inside his detention cell at the Senate.
As of this posting, Lavin said Taguba was already on his way to the NBI headquarters in Manila.
The Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 46 issued an arrest warrant on Jan. 30 against Taguba for importation of dangerous drugs, a violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 (Republic Act 9165).
READ: Court orders arrest of Customs fixer, businessman in P6.4B shabu shipment
Aside from Taguba, the trial court also ordered the arrests of Li Guang Feng alias Manny Li, Dong Yi Shen Xi alias Kenneth Dong, Eirene Mae Tatad, Teejan Marcellana, Chen I-Min, Jhu Ming Jhyun, and Chen Rong Juan.
The arrest order was issued after the court found probable cause in the criminal charges filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) over the drug shipment smuggled from China. /atm