The Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) convicted former Customs Officer Mark Taguba and three others over the Php6.4 billion shabu smuggling in 2017.
In a decision promulgated on Thursday, September 12, the Manila RTC Branch 21 found Taguba; shipment consignee Eirene Tatad; warehouseman Fidel Dee; and businessman Dong Yi Shen, alias ‘Kenneth Dong,’ guilty for the illegal importation and misdeclaration of the shabu shipments from China in 2017.
“The importation of the subject shipment container…which was found to contain about 602 kilograms of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu with (an) appraised value of P6.4 billion was accomplished with the indispensable participation of accused Dong, Taguba, Tatad and Dee,” the document cited.
According to authorities, the container arrived in May 2017 and was declared as package containing cutting boards, footwear, kitchenware, and moulds. However, a tip led the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to seize 602.2 kilograms of shabu from a warehouse in Valenzuela City.
The four accused were found to have violated the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
They were sentenced to reclusion perpetua, or up to 40 years of imprisonment. Apart from that, the four were also ordered to pay a fine of Php50 million for each count.
