Eight Customs employees in theft of US$ millions face arraignment

Santo Domingo.- A Santiago district court judge on Wednesday will arraign eight Customs Agency employees charged with stealing millions of dollars at Cibao International Airport cargo terminal.

Santiago prosecutor Luisa Liranzo said Army captain Domingo Antonio Jimenez Pilarte; Marcos Daniel Felipe González, Mairelin Rodriguez Batista, Leovigildo Ubiera Paulino, Nery del Carmen Correa Correa, Benito Henriquez Tejada, Luz Carlina Infante Fermin Tejada and Ramon Henriquez Hipólito stole an undisclosed amount of dollars in cash seized in a suitcase owned by air passenger Osairy Mercedes Quezada, who entered the country June 29.

Only around US$136,000 of the stolen money has been recovered, Customs said in a press release.

Although the theft alegedly occurred last month, Customs filed charges against Osairy Mercedes Quezada on July 9. The defendants are being held at the fort of San Luis, Santiago.