Phillipines arms smuggler jailed in US
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The United States sentenced a Filipino man living in New York to 40 months in federal prison for shipping weapons to a terrorist hotbed in the southern Philippines.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said 40-year-old Fernando Sero, alias Ferdie Resada, was sentenced on Friday in White Plains federal court by US District Judge Charles Brieant for violation of US Arms Export Control Act.
Sero pleaded guilty in June for shipping automatic weapons and gun parts to Mindanao since 2003 and selling the armaments to whoever would pay for them.
Sero, who lives in Yonkers, purchased the weapons in the US and sent them to Mindanao in sealed containers by falsifying shipping documents.
In some instances, the weapons parts were concealed in boxes containing household goods, such as a light fixture and an electric car cooler.
Sero had illegally shipped items classified as defense articles by the US State Department to Mindanao in at least four occasions--September 9, 11 and 12 in 2003 and again in March 22 this year, according to court papers.
Some of the shipments, which included AR-15, AK-47, M-16, G-3 and HK-94 along with other weapons parts and ammunition, were intercepted by US and Filipino authorities.
Mindanao navy chief Commodore Rufino Lopez said they have intensified efforts to curb the entry of illegal weapons in the region.
He said the country forged bilateral agreements with Malaysia and Indonesia for a joint border patrol in the southern Philippines.
"We have always intensified our operations against the illegal entry of weapons in Mindanao. And as a matter of fact, the Philippines is working very closely with other countries to stop the smuggling of weapons," Lopez said.
Lopez praised the US court decision. "That's good. Justice knows no border," he said.
He said Southern Command chief Lieutenant General Edilberto Adan also ordered a tough campaign on weapons smuggling.
"We continue to exert efforts to track gunrunners in Mindanao, and at the same time we are cooperating with other law enforcement agencies in the exchange of intelligence," Lopez said.
Mindanao island is a known lair of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group and the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the New People's Army (NPA).
Members of the Jemaah Islamiya terrorist group and private armies of politicians are also active in the southern region, one of the world's longest shorelines.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said 40-year-old Fernando Sero, alias Ferdie Resada, was sentenced on Friday in White Plains federal court by US District Judge Charles Brieant for violation of US Arms Export Control Act.
Sero pleaded guilty in June for shipping automatic weapons and gun parts to Mindanao since 2003 and selling the armaments to whoever would pay for them.
Sero, who lives in Yonkers, purchased the weapons in the US and sent them to Mindanao in sealed containers by falsifying shipping documents.
In some instances, the weapons parts were concealed in boxes containing household goods, such as a light fixture and an electric car cooler.
Sero had illegally shipped items classified as defense articles by the US State Department to Mindanao in at least four occasions--September 9, 11 and 12 in 2003 and again in March 22 this year, according to court papers.
Some of the shipments, which included AR-15, AK-47, M-16, G-3 and HK-94 along with other weapons parts and ammunition, were intercepted by US and Filipino authorities.
Mindanao navy chief Commodore Rufino Lopez said they have intensified efforts to curb the entry of illegal weapons in the region.
He said the country forged bilateral agreements with Malaysia and Indonesia for a joint border patrol in the southern Philippines.
"We have always intensified our operations against the illegal entry of weapons in Mindanao. And as a matter of fact, the Philippines is working very closely with other countries to stop the smuggling of weapons," Lopez said.
Lopez praised the US court decision. "That's good. Justice knows no border," he said.
He said Southern Command chief Lieutenant General Edilberto Adan also ordered a tough campaign on weapons smuggling.
"We continue to exert efforts to track gunrunners in Mindanao, and at the same time we are cooperating with other law enforcement agencies in the exchange of intelligence," Lopez said.
Mindanao island is a known lair of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group and the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the New People's Army (NPA).
Members of the Jemaah Islamiya terrorist group and private armies of politicians are also active in the southern region, one of the world's longest shorelines.
posted by Marko at 12/19/2005 11:19:00 AM
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