NBI tracks down aluminum ingots from

The National Bureau of Investigation still hopes to recover more of the missing 3,000 tons of aluminum ingots stolen by pirates from the hijacked Japanese bulk carrier Alondra Rainbow following a recent seizure of 314 bundles of the cargo in a warehouse in Pasig City.

The NBI believes that the balance of the cargo is stashed in warehouses in Metro Manila as the agency tried to apply for search warrants on two more warehouses believed to be where they have been stored. Agents assigned on the case, however, refused to divulge where these warehouses are.

The 8,913 DWT Alondra Rainbow was hijacked on Oct. 22, 1999, shortly after loading a cargo of 7,000 tons of aluminum ingots in Kuala Tanjung, Sumantra, bound for Miike, Japan. The crew of 15 Filipinos and two Japanese were held captive and later cast adrift in Thai waters and the vessel was eventually recaptured after a dramatic high seas chase off the coast of India in November last year.

Indian authorities found about 4,000 tons of cargo onboard leaving the remainder unaccounted for.

Tim Rejano, the supervising NBI agent assigned on the case, said the cargo was first shipped to the Philippines via Subic port in November, two to three weeks after the hijacking of the Japanese-owned ship.

Since there is only one melting plant of aluminum ingots in the Philippines, which is Reynolds Phils., the Chinese -- owned company provided the clue for the NBI to track down the warehouse where the cargoes have been sourced after their release from Subic port.

Surveillance conducted on Janson Paper Mills, located on Light Industrial Park in Mangahan, Pasig City, resulted in the discovery of a warehouse where the cargoes have been stored. Hanson insisted that it bought the shipment from a Malaysia-based company in "good faith."

The shipments from the pirated ship are valued at $2.5 million. The distinctive ingots bear the mark INAL, denoting their origin from Indonesia Asahan Aluminum, weigh 50 lbs. each and measure 20 cm. by 81 cm. by 9.5 cm.

The NBI is now contemplating appropriate charges to be filed against the possible culprits.