Filipino in Daly City gets 20 months for smuggling guns to PH 

Ratunil Cuares, 51, of Daly City, was convicted and sentenced for gun smuggling. LINKEDIN

DALY CITY, California – A federal court sentenced a Filipino resident of Daly City to 20 months in prison for smuggling goods, including firearms, from the United States to the Philippines.

U.S. District Court Judge Lucy H. Ko sentenced Ratunil Cuares, 51, of Daly City, who pleaded guilty to the charge on June 20, 2018.  According to his plea agreement, Cuares admitted that he attempted to export several firearms to the Philippines without the proper license authorizing him to do so.

In addition to the prison term, Cuares must serve a one-year term of supervised release to begin after he has served his prison term.  Judge Koh ordered defendant to begin serving his sentence on November 28, 2018.

Cuares admitted that in the Spring of 2015 he entered into an agreement to purchase two trucks from a San Jose-based company.  Pursuant to the agreement, the company would arrange for the trucks to be transported to the Philippines in a shipping container from the United States.

After the company ordered and received the shipping container, Cuares received permission from the company to add personal items so that those items could be shipped to the Philippines along with the trucks he had purchased.  Cuares added several items to the container, including a motorcycle, a television set, a washing machine or clothes dryer, a tool chest, and several boxes.

However, unbeknownst to the company or to authorities, Cuares also added to the shipping container several firearms including one Glock Model 42 .380 caliber handgun, one Ruger LC .380 caliber handgun, one STI .40 caliber handgun, and one Spikes Tactical M-4 assault rifle.  The shipping container arrived in the Philippines in early June of 2015.

Cuares also took steps to conceal the presence of the firearms in the container.  For example, he disassembled the firearms and hid the pieces inside of innocuous items.

A federal grand jury indicted Cuares on September 14, 2017, charging him with three counts: one count each of smuggling goods from the United States and concealing goods prior to exportation from the United States, and one count of delivery of firearms to common carrier without written notice. Cuares pleaded guilty to the first charge. The additional charges were dismissed following sentencing. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Bostic prosecuted the case.