Fake Customs men busted for extortion

Two fraudsters pretending to be Customs employees have been apprehended by the Bureau of Customs (BoC).

The conmen were identified as Gerardo Bundalian a.k.a. Jerry and his conduit Noel Panganiban.

The two were arrested in an entrapment operation conducted by BoC-Intelligence Group (IG) together with agents of the National Bureau of Investigation, Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard after the undercover authorities accepted the marked money during the supposed meet-up.

According to the BoC, the suspects were falsely identifying themselves as part of the bureau in order to grease money from stakeholders.

Deputy Commissioner Raniel Ramiro of the BoC-IG said reports reached the Bureau that certain individuals have been duping several BoC stakeholders, claiming they are working under IG.

“Initially, the report stemmed from a complaint received through the 8484 text hotline against an IG personnel allegedly demanding money against consignee Moriel,” he said.

Based on the report of the cooperative complainant, it was revealed that an alias Jerry, claiming to be an IG BoC collector, had already collected certain amounts from consignee Moriel through its processor on 12 August at Max’s Restaurant at Harbor Mall, amounting to P21,000 for the release of 14 containers, and on 16 August at the Harrison Plaza food court, amounting to P27 000 for another 18 containers.