L aw-enforcement authorities led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested three Filipino nationals the moment they set foot on the United States in Los Angeles for bringing in high-powered firearms from the Philippines. The three were formally charged in a criminal complaint unsealed on Friday in the US District Court in LA.

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CACHE INCLUDES  HIGH-POWERED RIFLES

Three Filipinos Arrested in Los Angeles for Arms Smuggling

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Member, Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE), Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA)

and National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC)

T ORONTO - American law-enforcement authorities have arrested three Filipino nationals who brought in high-powered firearms from the Philippines into the United States, the US Department of Justice announced in Washington on Friday.

The three were identified in a press statement to The Filipino Web Channel as Sergio Santiago de Leon Syjuco, aka “Yogi,” 25, of Muntinlupa City; Cesar Paolo Inciong Ubaldo, aka “Arvi,” 26, of Paranaque City; and Arjyl Revereza, 25, of Manila. 

All three were arrested upon their entry into the US at Los Angeles, California on Thursday, Jan. 5.

A complaint unsealed today in LA alleged that on June 7, 2011, Syjuco, Ubaldo and Revereza imported into the US various defense articles – items specifically designed, developed, configured, adapted or modified for military application, including 12 fully automatic Bushmaster M-4 .223 caliber rifles, a .50 caliber sniper rifle, an M14 7.62mm assault rifle, a single-shot grenade launcher, a rocket propelled grenade (RPG-7) launcher, a mortar launcher, an AK-47 rifle and ballistic vests.

Authorities said none of the three men had a license to import the firearms from the Philippines into the US. All the items were confiscated.

A DoJ statement said the three were charged in a criminal complaint with importing defense articles without a license in violation of the Arms Export Control Act. The case is part of an FBI investigation of transnational Asian organized crime groups involved in the illicit trafficking of firearms.

Syjuco, Ubaldo and Revereza were scheduled to appear Friday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia G. Rosenberg of the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum of 20 years in prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case with the assistance of the Philippines' National Bureau of Investigation. # # #

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