Lapeña, over 40 others face raps over smuggled drugs in magnetic lifters
Former Bureau of Customs (BOC) chief and current Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Director General Isidro Lapeña and dozens of others, including former BOC intelligence officer Jimmy Guban, are facing criminal complaints over their alleged involvement in the smuggling of billions of pesos worth of illegal drugs concealed in magnetic lifters.
The National Bureau of In-
vestigation (NBI) on Thursday filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) the complaint against Lapeña in connection with two magnetic lifters found with illegal drugs at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) and the four magnetic lifters at a warehouse in General Mariano Alvarez (GMA), Cavite.
In the complaint, NBI Director Dante Gierran sought the prosecution of Lapeña for both instances for dereliction of duty in violation of the Revised Penal Code; violation of Section 3(e) of the Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act); and grave misconduct in violation of the Code of Conduct for Public Officials and Employees.
“The BOC was headed by Lapeña when the issue on the magnetic lifters cropped up. Accordingly, Commissioner Lapeña has the duty to exercise any Customs power and functions in accordance with Section 20, in relation to Section 202 of the Customs and Tariff Act (CMTA) or RA 10863,” read the complaint.
But the NBI said Lapeña failed to do so since he did not file any charges against those involved in the shipment of magnetic lifters. It pointed out that violations were already committed when the two magnetic lifters were declared as door frames.
The NBI also said the four magnetic lifters were shipped along with two undeclared boxes and should have been subjected to 100 percent physical examination in accordance with the CMTA.
“However, up to this time, the Bureau of Customs did not initiate a case against the consignees and importers of the magnetic lifters,” it stated.
The NBI also named as Lapeña’s coaccused lawyer Vener Baquiran in the
magnetic lifters found in Manila, while lawyer Zsae Carrie de Guzman, John Mar Morales, and Benjamin Cajucom are his co-accused in the magnetic lifters in Cavite.
In the same complaint, the NBI also sought the prosecution of over 40 persons, including the three alleged “core conspirators,” namely: Guban, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Deputy Director for Administration Ismael Fajardo, dismissed Police Senior Supt. Eduardo Acierto who was former deputy Anti-Illegal Drug Special Task Force of the Philippine National Police (PNP) for importation of illegal drugs in violation of Section 26 of RA 9165 (the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002); violation of Section 3(e) of RA 3019; and for grave misconduct.
“These three individuals are main players in the entry of the magnetic lifters containing illegal drugs both from MICP and Cavite,” read the complaint.
The NBI said as July, 2018, Acierto received information about the ship-
ment from Malaysia of methamphetamine hydrochloride, locally known as shabu, and even relayed the information to Fajardo and Guban.
“During this time, the three knew that the shipment for VECABA Trading was actually illegal drugs. Series of meetings were made until the shipment was declared abandoned,” the NBI cited.
The NBI noted the two magnetic lifters arrived at the Port of Manila on June 27, 2018 and was discovered to contain shabu on August 7, 2019, while, the four magnetic lifters arrived on July 10, 2018 and stayed at the Port Manila until July 13, 2018.
“During this period, DDGA Fajardo, IO1 Guban, and Col. Acierto knew there were items coming from Malaysia containing illegal drugs. Instead of alerting
all ports, DDGA Fajardo and Guban did not make necessary coordination to intercept the shipment, as they knew, that the shipment belongs to or connected with Col. Acierto. What is worse is the fact that despite the joint operations of the PNP and PDEA, the four lifters were not intercepted in Region IV,” it explained.
The NBI lamented that Fajardo “conducted operations against illegal drugs in NCR and other parts of the country, including Region IV, however, the four magnetic lifters were never intercepted.”
The NBI also recommended the prosecution of Police Inspector Lito Pirote, who is also co-respondents of the core conspirators, for subornation of perjury as well as false testimony against Marino Signapan, Joel Maritana, and Romeo Naval.