Gun shipment seized off Bataan; crew arrested

MANILA, Philippines - Gun-smuggling charges will be filed against a South African captain and 13 Georgian crewmembers of a ship seized by authorities off Bataan with an undeclared cargo of high-powered firearms, officials said.

The Panamanian-registered M/V Captain Ufuk manned by Lawrence John of South Africa was seized and its crew arrested Thursday by customs, Coast Guard and police personnel who boarded the vessel while it was anchored off Bataan province.

However, Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said he has placed on its watchlist since Thursday evening a British national who is suspected of being the real captain of the ship.

“I signed a watchlist against the ship’s captain, British national Bruce Jones. It seems that he escaped when the vessel was still in the high seas. It seems that there has been a switch or a substitution. Jones was replaced by a certain Lawrence John who was a South African national. When the authorities boarded the vessel, it was this guy who was introduced as the captain of the ship,” Libanan said.

Based on records on board the ship, Jones was the real captain.

“I signed the watchlist against Capt. Jones because he is in the country. Our people at the airports and seaports would now be on the lookout for him. The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Bureau of Customs would also join in looking for Jones,” the BI Commissioner said.

Officials said they were still investigating the intended recipients of the firearms but suspected they could either be Muslim militants, communist rebels or private armies of politicians taking part in next year’s elections.

Customs intelligence chief Dino Tuazon said he suspects the 2,400-ton ship was being used by an international syndicate that supplies guns and ammunition to terrorist, rebel and criminal groups in Asia and Africa.

The Captain Ufuk, whose port of origin was Turkey, passed through Indonesia and was en route to the port of Batangas when customs and coast guard officials boarded the ship and found five crates of Indonesian-made Galil assault rifles, 45 bayonets and 120 empty gun magazines, officials said.

Mysterious recipient

Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said 15 empty crates were also found on the ship, and intelligence reports indicated that the contents were unloaded at sea onto a yacht.

Authorities were still trying to establish who owns the ship, Morales said.

The Philippine Coast Guard said the vessel has a Panamanian registry but appears to be owned by La Plata Trading Inc., a company in Manila.

The seizure comes amid a police campaign to rid the country of unregistered firearms blamed for fueling crime, terrorism and insurgencies.

Acting on a tip from a fisherman, authorities on a patrol craft intercepted and boarded the ship and found the undocumented cargo.

Although the alleged captain refused to admit knowing the contents of the 20 wooden crates, lawyer Elvira Cruz, district collector of the Mariveles Sub-Port, doubted his explanation.

A customs inspection team discovered the assorted military accessories kept in the five wooden crates.

Cruz immediately issued seizure warrant and detention against the firearms and the vessel for violation of Section 2530, paragraph G, of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines.

However, custom officials are still in a quandary where the firearms in the other 15 crates are.

John refused to comment when asked by authorities.

The firearms and the ship will be subjected to forfeiture proceedings while criminal charges will be filed against the crew and the alleged captain who are currently under BI and PNP custody. – Evelyn Macairan, Raffy Viray