CA upholds British drug suspect’s deportation

MANILA, Philippines - The Court of Appeals (CA) has upheld the deportation order of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) against a British man wanted in the United States for money laundering and drug trafficking.

 In an 11-page decision, the CA’s Special Seventh Division dismissed the petition filed by Gypsy Nirvana questioning the BI order.

It held that the bureau was correct in ordering the fugitive’s deportation to his homeland and noted that Nirvana committed procedural errors when he filed the petition without first filing a motion for reconsideration or an appeal before the Secretary of Justice or the Office of the President.

 “Expediency cannot justify a resort to procedural shortcuts. The end does not justify the means. A meritorious case cannot overshadow the condition that the means employed to pursue it must be in keeping with the rules,” read the ruling penned by Associate Justice Agnes Reyes-Carpio.

The CA also rejected Nirvana’s claim that his right to due process was violated since he was assisted by his lawyer during the investigation conducted by the BI.

The CA, however, granted Nirvana’s wish not to stop by the US during his flight back home. It ordered the BI to see to it that the flight should be direct from the Philippines to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, and if not feasible, the flight should not pass by any airport within the territorial jurisdiction of the US.

The CA also said it is compelled to come up with a “solomonic” solution to Nirvana’s case because he has four minor children with his Filipina girlfriend, who may have delivered their fifth child during the pendency of the case. 

“The law may be harsh, but it does not render us all heartless. Indeed, the law is solicitous to everyone regardless of his station in life,” the CA said. 

Associate Justices Marlene Gonzales-Sison and Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla concurred in this ruling.

BI Commissioner Siegfred Mison earlier said that Nirvana had a business, based in the UK, selling marijuana seeds for several years. The business catered mostly to American customers who transacted with him either via the Internet or by mail and money wire transfers, he said.

Mison added that the racket was uncovered only after several informants, who were Nirvana’s former associates, tipped US authorities about his activities.

Records show that on Aug. 15, 2013, an arrest warrant from Bangor, Maine was issued against Nirvana for federal money laundering and narcotics trafficking.

In particular, Nirvana was indicted for conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana; conspiracy to import marijuana; conspiracy to export marijuana from the US to England; and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.

On Aug. 28, 2013, BI operatives arrested Nirvana at the Subic Freeport in Olongapo City and brought him to the BI detention center in Taguig City. The next day, Nirvana’s immigrant visa was ordered cancelled. 

On Sept. 2, 2013, the BI issued a summary deportation order against Nirvana, but he managed to delay his deportation when he secured a writ of habeas corpus from a Manila Court. 

The court, however, recalled the writ on the ground that the proper remedy for Nirvana was to file a motion for reconsideration of the SDO before the BI. 

After the court’s ruling, Nirvana was scheduled to be deported back to London on Sept. 7 last year via a connecting flight from Los Angeles but it did not push through after he became unruly and the airline offloaded him.

Nirvana subsequently filed a petition seeking to prevent his deportation. He argued that his arrest and detention was illegal due to the failure of the BI to show that he violated Philippine immigration laws.