3 arrested in gang-related arms trafficking case
Three Filipinos have been arrested on charges of violating the Arms Export Control Act, according to a Department of Justice statement issued January 6.
The suspects were identified 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.
They were charged in criminal complaint — unsealed January 5 in the Central District of California — with importing defense articles into the United States without a license, in violation of the Arms Export Control Act. Syjuco, Ubaldo and Revereza were arrested upon their entry into the United States on January 5. They will make their initial appearances January 6 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia G. Rosenberg.
According to the complaint, the case is part of an FBI investigation of transnational Asian organized crime groups involved in the illicit trafficking of firearms.
The complaint alleges that on June 7, 2011, Syjuco, Ubaldo and Revereza imported various defense articles – items specifically designed, developed, configured, adapted or modified for military application – into the United States from the Philippines. These articles included 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.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum of 20 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the National Bureau of Investigations in Manila. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Margaret Honrath and Margaret Vierbuchen of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ariel Neuman of the Central District of California.
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