LOS ANGELES, Jan. 24 (UPI) — An FBI agent says he did not use public money to purchase sexual services for suspected arms traffickers while working undercover in the Philippines.
Lawyers for accused traffickers Sergio Santiago Syjuco and Cesar Ubaldo, and Arjyl Revereza, a Philippines customs official, have asked a federal judge in Los Angeles to dismiss the charges against them.
The three are charged with smuggling assault rifles, grenade launchers and mortar launchers from the Philippines to Long Beach, Calif., in 2011.
Their lawyers say FBI agent Charles Ro was involved in “outrageous government misconduct,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
On the witness stand Wednesday, Ro denied the defense claims. He acknowledged he took the defendants to karaoke bars and to some establishments featuring topless women but said he did not pay for sexual services or see any hint of them on bills he paid.
Copyright 2013 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).
