Tuesday, May 06, 2008 Ex-Cebu vice guv, 2 Australians indicted for drugs
THE Department of Justice (DOJ) has recommended the indictment of two Australian nationals and the son of former senator John Osmeña as “protector/coddler” of a seized illegal drug shipment worth P3.9 billion in Cebu in March 2004.
In a resolution, the panel of prosecutors said there is sufficient probable cause to warrant the filing of drug charges against former Cebu vice governor John Gregory Osmeña and Australians Mike Cummings and Dirk Hultz.
Respondents were slapped with violation of Republic Act (RA) 9165 or the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, particularly “importation of dangerous drugs and/or controlled precursors, attempt of conspiracy, criminal liability of government officials and employees, criminal liability of officers of partnerships, corporations or other juridical entities, liability of a person violating any regulation issued by the board.”
Cummings and Hultz were part of an Australian syndicate allegedly engaged in the importation of illegal drugs and substances. The drug ring has been identified through the coordination between the Australian Federal Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (Pdea) in an operation codenamed Coplan Queen (previously Coplan Latvia).
The DOJ panel dismissed for lack of strong evidence the charges against Gregory Osmeña’s former office staff, among them Joebert Lanas Cuesta, Ma. Rowena Roldan, Rorela Villegas, Leah Banal, Malou Legaspi, Michael Emilio Sanchez, Alexander Michael Castro, and Susan Bernardo.
The panel of prosecutors, composed of City Prosecutor Archimedes Manabat, State Prosecutors Juan Pedro Navera and Irwin Maraya, said the younger Osmeña was liable under Article 1 of RA 9165 for coddling or giving protection to suspected drug dealers, or using his influence, power or position in shielding, harboring or facilitating the escape of any person or suspects.
“Juxtaposed against the denials of respondent Osmeña, we find the Pdea complaint against him detailed, specific, direct and convincing. It is settled that denials, whether general and sweeping, cannot prevail over positive and categorical testimony,” said the DOJ panel.
Navera further said Pdea confirmed the former vice governor’s involvement in the Australian drug ring when they tracked his meetings with them in a Cebu hotel and at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Manila to convince them to release the pseudo ephedrine.
The DOJ said Gregory Osmeña’s acts of requesting for a meeting with Pdea officers to ask for the release of the contraband imported by Cummings and Hultz, coupled with his offer of consideration to a Pdea officer, falls within the ambit of “protector/coddler.”
Cummings and Hultz have subsequently been tried before the Australian court wherein they have pleaded guilty to the drug charges.
However, Gregory Osmeña, now a resident of Los Angeles, California, failed to appear during preliminary investigations, but in his counter-affidavit he belied the allegations as a mere smear campaign against him as he was running for governorship at that time.
He further denied that he or his employees tried to import any dangerous drugs or pseudoephedrine into the country, or that he tried to call Pdea officials to release the cargo of suspected illegal drugs which were detained at the Customs warehouse in Cebu in favor of Cummings and his firm, Coastside Ventures Inc.
The DOJ gave merit on the complaint-affidavit of Pdea policeman Martin Francia, who was part of the team that investigated and arrested the suspects.
Francia said in November 2003, they received intelligence information from the Australian Federal Police regarding the expected arrival in the country of an undetermined amount of dangerous drugs known as methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) and at least 1,500 kilograms (kgs) of pseudoephedrine hydrochloride.
The cargo was believed to have originated from China en route to Australia via Cebu.
On March 5, 2004, four pallets containing 60 drums weighing 1,500 kgs of pseudo ephedrine arrived at Cebu Port and were kept in the warehouses of the Bureau of Customs in Cebu for the consignee, Mike Cummings of Coastside Ventures Inc. or his representative, to claim and pick up the cargo.
At this point, Police Captain Isidro Estrera of the Enforcement and Security Service Customs Police Division allegedly received a call from an unidentified Tagalog-speaking male caller offering P20 million for the release of the prohibited shipment.
On the other hand, Superintendent Gaudencio Pagaling, then Pdea Regional Director for Central Visayas, received a call from Gregory Osmeña requesting for the release of the same shipment.
A few days later, Gregory Osmeña called up Senior Superintendent Gaudencio Golingay, then director of Compliance Service of Pdea, to meet up in a hotel in Manila, where the former governor asked for assistance and promised sufficient consideration for the release of the shipment. This meeting was discreetly monitored by Pdea intelligence policemen.
After almost two weeks without claimant, the BOC turned over the cargo to Pdea for inventory and laboratory examination on March 16, 2004. The results rendered it positive for the presence of pseudoephedrine, a controlled precursor chemical. (ECV/Sunnex)
