Man in Guam gets 10 years in prison for smuggling meth from PH

Fritz Venture Tady Ganzon conspired with others since January 2017 to import methamphetamine from the Philippines into Guam for distribution. US DOJ

The District Court in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands sentenced a man to 121 months in prison for smuggling narcotics from the Philippines for illegal sale in Guam.

Fritz Ventura Tady Ganzon, 40 from Dededo, Guam, must serve a ten-year sentence imprisonment with credit for time served for Conspiracy to Import Fifty or More Grams of Methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 and 960.

The Court also ordered five years of supervised release and a mandatory special assessment fee.  In addition, defendants convicted of a federal drug offense may no longer qualify for certain federal benefits.

According to a court release, Ganzon conspired with others since January 2017 to import methamphetamine from the Philippines into Guam for distribution. On a first trip, a Philippine drug supplier paid for Ganzon’s travel expenses and arranged for the drugs to be delivered to Ganzon.

In April 2017, Ganzon traveled to the Philippines to pick up the drugs, which were concealed in noodle packaging. Ganzon then smuggled the drugs into Guam on May 5, 2017.  The supplier paid Ganzon $3,000 for smuggling the drugs.

In April 2017, the Philippine supplier offered Ganzon $2,000 to go on a second trip to Guam.  On May 1, 2017, Ganzon informed Joel Po Ymballa that he planned to smuggle a kilogram of methamphetamine into Guam. Ganzon recruited Ymballa to travel with him to the Philippines to act as a lookout and assist in importing the drugs.  Ganzon and Ymballa agreed to deliver the drugs to a Guam distributor for the Philippine supplier.

On May 18, 2017, Ganzon gave Ymballa cash to purchase two round-trip tickets on Philippine Airlines, departing Guam to the Philippines on June 9, 2017, and returning to Guam on June 24, 2017.

At the Guam airport, Ganzon instructed Ymballa to carry $9,000 on his person until they landed in the Philippines.  Once in the Philippines, Ganzon paid for all travel expenses, in addition to methamphetamine that they both smoked.

Ganzon then met with the Philippine drug supplier to obtain the drugs for importation into Guam. The drugs were wrapped in 23 cellophane bundles and concealed in nine snack boxes.

Ganzon and the Philippine drug supplier placed the snack boxes into Ymballa’s suitcase.  Ymballa’s suitcase was seized upon arrival at the airport in Guam.  The Drug Enforcement Administration Southwest Laboratory determined that the 23 bundles contained 969.5 grams of methamphetamine, with 98% purity.

“This case reveals that drugs in Guam are sourced from many locations, including overseas,” United States Attorney Shawn N. Anderson said in a press statement.  “Our federal and local partnerships are key to interdicting this criminal activity.  I applaud the efforts of Homeland Security Investigations in protecting our homeland from these threats.”