IN CONNECTION WITH SMUGGLING More customs officers probed

In yet another effort to clamp down on smuggling, the government has widened the investigation of the illegal activity to include more employees of the Division of Customs after two of its officers were charged for their alleged involvement in smuggling activities.

According to Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio, the Department of Finance is working closely with the Attorney General’s Office and its investigation unit to pin down customs personnel believed to be involved in big time smuggling.

The governor did not identify the customs officers but said they were involved in the smuggling of taxable merchandise into the Northern Marianas. He also did not disclose the extent of the smuggling activity.

The Tenorio administration hopes to curb smuggling as part of its campaign to raise revenues for the financially-troubled Commonwealth.

Customs officers Antonio S. Reyes and Benjamin S. Delos Reyes were charged Thursday with one count each of bribery and misconduct in public office after they allegedly received payoffs from smugglers for the illegal entry of taxable goods into Saipan.

If convicted, Reyes and Delos Reyes could face a jail term of up to five years and a fine of up to $1,000 for the crimes which allegedly took place on or about April 8, 1999.

In an information filed by the AGO in the Superior Court, the two accepted bribe money from alleged smugglers in exchange for the release of such goods without being properly taxed.

According to Kevin Lynch, chief of the Criminal Division of the AGO, an investigation is still going on concerning people in customs who may have been involved in similar activities. However, he declined to identify the employees being probed by government investigators.

“We will continue to look into these matters until we’re satisfied and we have discovered all the wrongdoing that has been going on,” Lynch said in a phone interview Friday.

Lynch added, “We consider this to be a serious kind of crime because it involved persons with the government and a breach of public’s trust in its officials. We will not tolerate any criminal wrongdoing by public officials.”

At this point, however, there is no indication yet whether there is an organized group within the customs office operating such illegal activity, he said. “I can say at this point this appears to be individuals acting on their own with two others. It does not appear to be a syndicate or a ring.”

Early this month, four people have been charged for violations of CNMI’s customs laws after they attempted to bring in close to 2,000 cartons of undeclared cigarettes with the help of customs officers.

One of the suspects – all Korean nationals – met with a customs officer, who was paid $750 to clear the entry of boxes of cigarettes, according to court documents.

In another incident, once customs officer was promised $450 by the suspects if he would facilitate the release of 1,000 cartons of smuggled cigarettes from South Korea.