2 Pinoys held for smuggling $.9 M at Guam airport

Two Filipinos have been charged with cash smuggling and forfeiture before the district court in Guam for trying to smuggle $.9 million to the Philippines Thursday, according to a report by television network ABS-CBN.

Ernesto Paglicawan Verdera and Mark Anthony Bartolome were arrested at the Guam International Airport at around 5 a.m. as they were about to board Philippine Airlines flight PR 111.

Federal law states that anyone leaving the United States should report to the Customs and Border Protection if he is carrying more than  $10,000.

Transportation Security Administration personnel discovered cash wrapped in carbon paper in one of the seven pieces of luggage Verdera checked in.

This prompted the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel to open all of the suitcases of the two Filipinos, discovering even more cash, also wrapped in carbon paper, in five of the seven suitcases.

Verdera said he never discovered that he was carrying any cash in his baggage.

But according to the ICE, the motive was obvious because the cash had been enclosed in carbon paper to prevent them from being detected by K-9 units.

Bartolome, however, admitted to the offense, saying he helped Verdera pack the bundles of cash in carbon paper. He said they had done the same thing during a prior visit to Guam.