DOJ places 7 people in Customs shabu mess under lookout bulletin

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Wednesday issued an immigration lookout bulletin order against seven personalities that have figured in the legislative investigation on the P6.4 billion worth of illegal drugs from China that slipped past the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

Aguirre instructed Bureau of Immigration (BI) personnel to monitor and report to the Department of Justice, Office of the Prosecutor General, Office of the Senate blue ribbon committee and the BOC any attempt of the following individuals to leave the country:

• Richard Tan alias Richard Chen, Chen Yu Long, Ken Joo Lung - owner of Hongfei Logistics, the warehouse in Valenzuela City where the 604 kilograms of shabu were seized on May 26
• Kenneth Dong alias Dong Yi Shen Xi - an alleged middleman for Tan
• Fidel Dee- consignee of the shipment that contained shabu or crystal meth who was arrested during the raid on the warehouse
• Jhu Ming Yun and Chen Min -- Taiwanese who rented the warehouse
• Mark Ruben Taguba- private customs broker
• Larribert Hilario- head of the BOC Risk Management Office accused of not encoding properly in the BOC system the shipment of EMT Trading that contained shabu

Aguirre issued the order following the request of Senator Richard Gordon, chairperson of the Senate blue ribbon committee investigating the controversy that even sparked calls by some congressmen for Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon to resign.

President Rodrigo Duterte, in turn, expressed his confidence in Faeldon during their meeting in Malacañang on Tuesday, as he reminded the BOC chief to remain focused on his job in reforming the corrupt-laden agency. — RSJ, GMA News