Justice department recommends raps v. 6 for P54M cocaine

THE Department of Justice (DOJ) formally recommended the filing of case before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) against six employees of Maersk Filipinas Inc. for trying to conceal some boxes containing bricks of cocaine in reefer vans at their compound in Sasa, Davao City sometime in 2009.

Charged with section 11 (Possession of Dangerous Drugs) were Jesus Nobela, Alvin Reyes, Leo Dalisay, and Francisco Manago of Maersk Filipinas Inc. with office address in Pasay City, in a resolution dated June 22 signed by Department of Justice (DOJ) undersecretary Leah Armamento.

The DOJ also recommended the filing of the charges against two other employees identified as Rodger Carael of Dona Asuncion Street, Davao City, and Marivic Ruiz.

The case against Carael and Ruiz were earlier dismissed by the City Prosecution Office (CPO) for lack of probable cause.

However, based on the automatic review of the case conducted by the DOJ panel, the two were found to be liable of the charge along with the four Maersk employees.

Maersk Line is a global containerized shipping division of A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, one of the largest line shipping companies in the world with a container depot in Davao City.

The CPO received the DOJ resolution on August 31 and was forwarded to the Regional Trial Court Branch 13 on Thursday.

They were charged based on the accounts of Jonathan Morales of the Intelligence and Investigation Service chief of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Quezon City.

Morales filed the complaint based on the affidavit of Richard Silva Pelaez of the International Reefer Services (IRS) Inc. who was assigned at the Maersk Line container yard where the bricks of high grade cocaine weighing 16 kilos with an estimated value of P54 million were found last December 2009.

Pelaez said he was conducting a pre-trip inspection on the Thermo King refrigerated container van when he found four brown bricks wrapped with packaging tape at the access panel in Rack 2-A.

Jesus Nobela, the reefer van technician leadman, opened the boxes and discovered 16 bricks made of white powdery substance.

The boxes were brought to the guard and then hidden inside the access panel of the evaporator of the reefer van after the IRS officials were informed about the find.

Respondent Reyes, the manager of IRS, called for a meeting with officials and allegedly instructed Pelaez and Nobela not to reveal to authorities that there were actually four boxes found.

On December 23, 2009, Pelaez and Nobela and a certain Mabaquiao were subpoenaed to give their statements. But before they appeared for investigation by PDEA, Luis allegedly reminded the two to disclose that only one box, instead of four, was found.

The DOJ earlier issued a hold departure order against all the respondents pending the resolution of the case.