4 Filipinos Indicted on Gun-Smuggling Charges

A former Philippine vice governor and three other Filipinos were indicted by a federal grand jury Friday on firearms and customs violations in connection with an alleged attempt to smuggle more than 300 weapons and 500,000 rounds of ammunition into the Philippines, acting U.S. Atty. Robert Brosio announced.

The indictment charges Antonio Paredes, 65, now of Long Beach; his son, Quintin Paredes III, 42; Maria Louisa Tan Hang, 34, and her husband, Kerwin Hang, 42, with attempting to smuggle the handguns and pistol primers to unnamed co-conspirators in the Cagayan province of the Philippines. In recent months that area has been the site of considerable anti-government activity. Quintin Paredes, Maria Hang and her husband are residents of the Philippines.

The senior Paredes is free on $250,000 bail. The younger Paredes and Maria Hang are being held in Los Angeles without bail. Kerwin Hang has not had a bail hearing yet, federal officials said.

According to the indictment, the defendants paid a local gun dealer more than $50,000 cash for the firearms.

The case was jointly investigated by the U.S. Customs Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Bureau agents became curious when they noticed the gun dealer, whose name is being withheld, making heavy purchases.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Carol Gillam, who is prosecuting the case, declined to provide details beyond the indictment.

But Gillam said Antonio Paredes is a retired judge and former vice governor from the Philippines, and his father also held prominent political positions under the late Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos. Gillam said that Quintin Paredes III is a lawyer practicing in Manila.

The indictment alleges that Maria and Kerwin Hang, both Manila-area residents, were the financiers of the smuggling operation.

On Feb. 8, authorities intercepted an arms shipment--containing 371 pistols and 500,000 rounds of ammunition--that apparently was destined for a cargo container that was to be placed aboard a ship heading for the Philippines, Gillam said.

The indictment states that Quintin Paredes III placed the first order for weapons with a local gun dealer, who is now cooperating with the government in the case. Paredes subsequently placed several other orders until the plot was discovered, the indictment states.

Attempts to reach lawyers for the defendants were unsuccessful.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a possible fine of $1 million on the customs violation, and five years each on the five firearms counts. The maximum fine on the firearms charge is $250,000 per count.