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Three Filipinos have been arrested in California for bringing in unlicensed firearms into the the United States, the US Department of Justice revealed on Saturday (Manila time). Authorities said they were apprehended as they were entering the country. In a statement posted on its website, the United States Department of Justice identified the Filipinos as:
25-year-old Sergio Santiago de Leon Syjuco a.k.a. "Yogi" from Muntinlupa,
26-year-old Cesar Paolo Inciong Ubaldo a.k.a. "Arvi" from Parañaque, and
25-year-old Arjyl Revereza from Manila.
The Filipinos were charged with importing defense articles into the United States without a license and were arrested upon their entry into the United States on January 5, 2012 (US time).
The US Department of Justice revealed Saturday the scheduled arraignment of 3 Filipinos arrested on suspicion of arms smuggling.
"According to the complaint, the case is part of an FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) investigation of transnational Asian organized crime groups involved in the illicit trafficking of firearms," said the report, adding that the Philippines' National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) "also provided significant assistance on the matter." The US Department of Justice added that the complaint said Syjuco, Ubaldo, and Revereza "imported various defense articles" from the Philippines to the US on June 7, 2011. Included in the items -- which the DOJ report also narrated were confiscated by law enforcement officers when the three entered the US -- were:
The DOJ report contains conflicting information: While stating that the importation of the weapons took place in June 2011, it likewise says these were seized as the three suspects were entering the US on Jan. 5. Their trial may also clear up the mystery why the Filipinos would need to smuggle US-made arms such as the Bushmaster back into the United States. Syjuco, Ubaldo, and Revereza were scheduled to make their initial appearances in the US District Court in Los Angeles on the same day that their arrest and arraignment was disclosed. If convicted, they could face up to 20 years in prison. -VVP/HS/ELR, GMA News
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