Joint team formed to probe gun shipment case

THE Bureau of Customs is tapping at least three other police agencies to help track down the real shipper and consignee of the illegal shipment inside the 45-foot van confiscated last Tuesday.

Ronnie Silvestre, Cebu Customs district collector, said yesterday that the Customs would work together with the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7), the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7) and the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime.

Silvestre said it would be a joint investigation group headed by the Bureau of Customs.

The Customs officers already informed CIDG-7 Director Jose Pante of their plan and will meet again on Monday.

“Secretary Robredo (Department of Interior and Local Government) is also interested in the outcome of this case and the President (Noynoy Aquino) is also interested. . .There is a need to ask other government agencies for the manpower and resources for our track team investigation,” Silvestre told Cebu Daily News.

He said the purpose of working together would be to expedite the case especially that some of the agencies were also trying to conduct their own investigation on the illegal shipment case.

“We might as well join together,” Silvestre said.

Silvestre said they already knew that the consignee, D’ Golden House Trading Co., had an office in Bacalla Compound, Holy Name Street, barangay Mabolo, Cebu City.

However, the owner of the company, Nazario R. Canono, sent a letter addressed to Silvestre dated Nov. 28.

The letter said that the D’ Golden House Trading Co. was a “registered importer based in Cebu and doing business trading and importations.”

Canono said in the letter that the van, which arrived on Nov. 24 and seized by the Customs personnel last Tuesday, was not his importation.

Canono also attached an affidavit of denial, which was signed by a notary public, lawyer Domingo Celis Jr., on the letter that was submitted to Silvestre.

Silvestre was set to meet Canono yesterday but Canono didn’t show up.

Customs Investigator Rico Mongaya said that Canono told him that he was still in Manila the last time they spoke on the phone.

“It’s possible that the shipment was just addressed to D’ Golden House Trading Co. because the shipper can just address it to anyone. It was first addressed to Renato Ramos and now it was addressed to a company,” Mongaya told Cebu Daily News.

The container van was opened at the BOC compound last Nov. 29.

The van contained truck heads, used household goods, bullets and gun parts worth at least P400,000.

Based on documents, the carrier of the container van was identified as NYK Line from Oakland, California. The forwarding agent was Calorama Freight Services Inc. of Mandaue City.

Silvestre said the container van was the last of four that arrived in the country in the past few days.

He said the boxes of ammunition were issued to a certain “Robert Granthom.”

According to the receipt, Silvestre said the bullets were bought at AIM Inc. in 3801 Lefferson Road, Middletown, Ohio, 45044.

The US Homeland Security had been assisting Customs in the investigation.

The first van, which was misdeclared as “personal effects” and originated from California, arrived in Cebu last Nov. 15.

The consignee identified as a certain “Renato Ramos” of JP Rizal Street, Banilad, Cebu City, had yet to be located.

Customs personnel said they believed the name was fictitious. The seized items were scheduled for auction this month.  Correspondent Rhea Ruth V. Rosell