Airport cops nab suspected swindler

Police authorities at the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) nabbed an alleged swindler who reportedly victimizes seafarers and operates in the vicinity of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) yesterday.

Major Melchor de los Santos, MIAA police investigation and intelligence division chief, identified the suspect as Rufino Bernardo, who reportedly poses as a Customs examiner and promises victims of access to cheap smuggled cellular phones.

Bernardo was arrested in an entrapment operation yesterday afternoon at a canteen at the PAIR-PAGS complex beside the NAIA Terminal I after a request for assistance was received from Engineer Nelson Ramirez, president of United Filipino Seafarers (UFS) group, and executive editor and publisher of the seafarer’s newsletter, Tinig ng Marino.

In an interview with airport reporters, Ramirez said he had sought the assistance of the MIAA-PIID when Bernardo had approached him, selling cheap but smuggled high-end mobile phones.

Unknown to Bernardo, Ramirez was already aware of his illegal activities as several seamen had already reported being duped by him.

In coordination with the MIAA-PIID, Ramirez set up a meeting with Bernardo at the restaurant and after handing over the money in a brown envelope for four high-end Nokia cellular phones, the suspect was immediately arrested by plainclothes MIAA policemen.

A search conducted on Bernardo yielded a sachet of suspected dried marijuana leaves, a penknife, the brown envelope and several identification cards.