Former customs intel chief to be transferred to NBI

October 25, 2018

Former customs intelligence officer Jimmy Guban will be transferred to the National Bureau of Investigation to be a state witness in cases on an alleged P6.8-billion shabu shipment that slipped past the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Thursday said upon orders of President Rodrigo Duterte, Guban will be under the custody of the NBI.

Guevarra, who received the report of the Senate Thursday afternoon, said Guban is considered a "vital witness."

"Mr. Guban shall be considered for coverage under the witness protection program, upon full compliance with all the requirements under the WPP law," Guevarra said in a text message.

Guevarra said he discussed Guban's custody with Blue Ribbon Committee chairman Senator Richard Gordon.

"We have agreed to transfer the custody of Jimmy Guban to the NBI upon termination of the Senate inquiry," he said.

Guban testified at a Senate hearing on the alleged shabu shipment. He is detained in the Senate after he was cited in contempt by the Blue Ribbon committee for "lying."

Guevarra said the NBI will conduct  more investigation on the basis of the Senate committee report and "file the appropriate complaints as evidence will warrant."

The NBI is conducting its own investigation on the alleged  P6.8-billion shabu shipment that was said to be in four magnetic lifters seized by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Cavite last August.

Last Wednesday, Duterte ordered the police  to arrest Guban and have him detained in the NBI.

Guevarra said he would ask the NBI if there’s a subsisting warrant or if there’s any ground for a warrantless arrest. DMS