South African ship captain guilty of arms smuggling

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima INQUIRER file photo

MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila de Lima hailed the recent decision of the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) to convict a South African ship captain accused of smuggling into the country more than P5 million worth of firearms from Indonesia.

The CTA Third Division last month sentenced Lawrence John Burne to from eight to 10 years in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of P8,000 after he was found guilty of unlawful importation as defined under Section 3601 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines.

“This is a warning to all those who want to harm the economy, those who want to deprive our country of rightful levies, including customs duties and taxes worth millions. Smugglers, regardless of influence or economic stature, have no place in our society but in jail,” De Lima said in a statement.

She commended State Prosecutor Ramon Mendoza for the handling of the case even though Burne was still a fugitive after jumping bail.

Court records showed that the Panamanian-registered vessel M/V Ufuk skippered by Burne with 13 crew who were all Georgian nationals arrived in Mariveles, Bataan, from Jakarta in August 2009.

A team from the Bureau of Customs, Philippine National Police and Philippine Coast Guard found on board 20 wooden crates containing 100 rifles and 10 pistols—all made in Indonesia—worth about P5.6 million.

The ship captain was unable to produce the documents to support the cargo. He was charged with violation of the Tariff and Customs Code for the unlawful arms importation and assessed duties of about P1.3 million.

After being charged and detained at the Bureau of Immigration, Burne was able to post P120,000 bail in 2011. He then left the country.

The CTA, however, continued the trial against him, adding: “Once an accused jumps bail, escapes from prison or confinement, or flees to a foreign country, he loses his standing in court and unless he surrenders or submits to the jurisdiction of the court, he is deemed to have waived any right to seek relief therefrom.”—Jerome Aning