There is probable cause to indict former Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon and the others suspected of involvement in the smuggling of a P6.4-billion “shabu” (crystal meth) shipment from China that slipped past the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in May, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) insisted on Friday.
There is probable cause to indict former Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon and the others suspected of involvement in the smuggling of a P6.4-billion “shabu” (crystal meth) shipment from China that slipped past the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in May, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) insisted on Friday.
In a nine-page reply to the counter-affidavits of Faeldon and the other respondents, the complainant, PDEA agent Norman Balquiedra, told a panel of Department of Justice prosecutors that there was criminal intent in the importation of the container van where five metal cylinders containing 604 kilos of shabu were found.
Charges were also brought against former and current BOC officials Milo Maestrecampo, Neil Anthony Estrella, Joel Pinawin, Oliver Valiente, as well as the shipment’s brokers, importers and consignees, including whistleblower Mark Taguba.
Conspiracy
They were all charged with conspiracy to import illegal drugs and protect drug traffickers, as well as corruption and obstruction of justice.
