DOJ sets sights on Eduardo Acierto coddlers

MANILA, Philippines — Persons found guilty of coddling former police official Eduardo Acierto and others wanted in connection with the alleged smuggling of billions of pesos worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu last year will be meted the maximum prison term of 20 years, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo Guevarra said yesterday.

 “In general, people who harbor or conceal accused-at-large are liable for obstruction of justice. More specifically, coddlers or protectors of persons accused of violating Section 4 of the Dangerous Drugs Law (importation of illegal drugs) are likewise criminally liable under Section 4 and stand to suffer imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of up to P500,000,” he said.

Last April 12, the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 35 issued a warrant for the arrest of Acierto and seven others suspected to be involved in the importation of 355 kilos of shabu, with a street value of P2.4 billion, at the Manila International Container Port last June 28, 2018.

The shabu shipment, hidden in two abandoned magnetic lifters, was seized at the Port of Manila in August last year. The case also involved four empty magnetic lifters at a warehouse in General Mariano Alvarez, Cavite which authorities believe held 1.6 tons of shabu with an estimated street value of P11 billion.

Aside from Acierto, the court also named dismissed Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency deputy chief Ismael Fajardo and resigned Bureau of Customs  intelligence officer Jimmy Guban in the warrant.

Also wanted are importers Chan Yee Wah and Zhou Quan, consignees Vedasto Baraquel Jr. and Maria Catipan of Vecaba Trading and Emily Luquingan.

Guban was arrested on April 17 and is in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). The rest of the accused remain at large.

The court issued the warrant based on a 45-page resolution issued on April 8 by a panel of prosecutors led by DOJ Assistant State Prosecutor Mary Jane Sytat, which found probable cause to file charges against eight out of 40 persons the NBI named in its complaint.