Fake Customs men nabbed for extorting over P90K

The Bureau of Customs (BoC) has arrested two men posing as employees after they tried to extort money from an importer trying to speed up the release of a shipment.

According to the bureau’s  Intelligence Group, Gerardo Bundalian and Noel Panganiban were arrested earlier this week after importer Moriels Trading claimed they asked for P43,000 on top of the P48,000 they had received.

The money was for the release of the consignee’s 32 containers. But because the suspects were not BoC employees, they failed to fulfill their end of the deal.

Authorities arrested Bundalian and Panganiban in an entrapment operation in Manila, where it was learned they were also negotiating with at least 80 other individuals.

The BoC said that an investigation into these transactions was underway as it asked the public to report through its text hotline 8484 any irregularities or extortion attempts so that these could be acted upon immediately.