The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has filed a criminal complaint against five persons, including two personnel of the Bureau of Customs (BoC), for their alleged involvement in the smuggling of P8 million worth of jewelry at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in 2018.
NBI Anti-Graft Division (NBI-AGD) chief Catherine Camponsano-Remigio on Wednesday said charges were filed against the five before the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) last March 6.
Those charged were Customs Operations Officer V Lomontod Macabando; customs security guard Gamaloden Musor; spouses Abraham Mimbalawag and his wife Bangsa-An; and an unidentified respondent.
In its complaint, the NBI accused the five of having violated Sections 3(a) and (e) of Republic Act 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Remegio said that on May 5, 2018 Macabando was arrested by BoC officials after he was caught in possession of a clutch bag carrying P8 million of assorted pieces of jewelry the NAIA Terminal 3.
The pieces of jewelry include 24 gold rings, 1029 pairs of gold of earings, 155 gold pendants, five pieces of gold earings and pendants, 19 gold bangles, 295 gold chains, and 101 gold bracelets.
She said that a closed circuit television camera (CCTV) footage showed that Macabando and Musor were together when the clutch bag was handed over by an unidentified person.
During the NBI investigation, Remegio said the Mimbalawag couple admitted owning the pieces of jewelry that they brought from Dubai.
The couple also admitted to investigators that Macabando is their distant relative and have asked for his help to get a fair and lawful assessment of the jewelry as they claimed they have lost the receipt for the purchase. (Jeffrey Damicog)
