Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 10) — A Manila court has ruled that former Customs intelligence officer Jimmy Guban, one of those charged in the smuggling of multibillion-peso shabu shipments, can no longer stay at the detention center of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Branch 35 of the Manila Regional Trial Court ordered the NBI to have Guban transferred to the Manila City Jail in a May 8 decision obtained by CNN Philippines Friday. The court denied Guban’s motion to remain at the NBI detention facility.
Guban was among those accused in the smuggling of two massive drug shipments concealed in magnetic lifters – one believed to be worth ₱11 billion and the other, ₱2.4 billion. Authorities found the contraband in August after slipping into the country in June.
Guban, who was earlier detained by the Senate, was transferred to the custody of the NBI upon the termination of legislative hearings on the shabu smuggling. He was considered by the Senate as a “vital witness” after he admitted to receiving ₱10,000 to find the consignee-for-hire for the drug shipment, upon the orders of former Senior Supt. Eduardo Acierto.
In December 2018, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency filed drug charges against Guban, Acierto, and other individuals and companies accused of facilitating the entry of the two shabu shipments.
