Customs: Igros under investigation

By Johnnie Rosario

johnnie@kanditnews.com

(Tumon, Guam) Customs Officer I Eugene T. Igros is under investigation for the improper handling of drug evidence, according to Customs spokeswoman Jessi Jon Santos-Torres.

"I want to assure you that the Director takes these matters seriously, has taken appropriate action, and the matter is currently under review," Ms. Santos-Torres wrote to Kandit.

Sources within the Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency have confirmed that on December 11, 2019, Customs Officer I Eugene T. Igros and his partner took over the inspection of an arriving passenger transiting to Saipan, who allegedly was found with meth. Mr. Igros's partner is new to the job and subordinate to him. During the inspection, the two separate drug evidence from non-drug evidence. The drug evidence was placed into a secured area. Mr. Igros took the non-drug evidence to his office and did not process the evidence for six days.

Upon processing, Mr. Igros said he discovered drug evidence among the non -drug evidence - between one to two pounds of meth.

According to the confidential source: "This case is a mess. Who is to say Igros didn't plant those drugs? Did Igros report the entire amount he found? Why is non-drug evidence being secured in his office?

Despite the ongoing investigation, Mr. Igros remains in the unit handling drug inspections. Ms. Santos-Torres has not yet responded to our inquiry as to why this is so.

Kandit also has asked Customs whether the agency has referred the matter to the Guam Police Department for criminal investigation.

Lt. Steve Amaguin, the Special Assistant to the Chief of Police (SACOP), told Kandit Friday he was not personally aware of a referral from Customs to investigate Mr. Igros criminally. The customs officer, however, has close ties with former Mandana Drug Task Force members, who now are part of GPD's criminal investigations division, including flamboyant cop Chris Champion.

Mr. Igros and Ms. Champion's associations include embattled police officer Joey Aguon, the cop caught on viral video assaulting a cuffed defendant. The police department remains silent on the status of both the internal affairs and criminal investigations into Mr. Aguon.

Mr. Igros early last year was removed from the now-defunct Mandana Drug Task Force, as were his other task force colleagues, many of whom have been blacklisted from federal task forces and are themselves the subjects of several criminal, administrative, and civil investigations. Among them are Guam Police officer Jimmy Manglona, who was removed from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency Task Force. His former partner, Guam Police officer Jeremiah DeChavez signed undetermined amounts of U.S. currency to each other following an August 10, 2018 drug raid.

Mr. Champion has been accused of numerous criminal violations and the violations of Constitutional and civil rights of a number of defendants and victims. GPD has confirmed that Mr. Champion continues to patrol the streets, despite the several complaints made against him.

Guam Police officer Keane Pangelinan and Port Police officer Kylie Maurer also have been accused of crimes, including the use of a defendant's debit card to purchase food for themselves, and the theft of evidence from crime scenes.

Mr. Igros also is documented as having confiscated scores of grams of meth in a May 2018 raid and did not turn the evidence into the Hagatna evidence locker.

Mr. Igros is the same Customs officer who appealed his suspension from Customs to the Civil Service Commission following the discharge of his service revolver during a stake out and prior to a raid of a Chalan Pago home. According to CSC documents, Mr. Igros somehow managed to 'accidentally' dislodge his gun from its holster, then drop the gun on the ground, then as he retrieved it, 'accidentally' pull the trigger.

He was not part of the team conducting the raid on the home, but was assigned to secure the perimeter. The supervising officer at the scene had to yell for the other officers to take cover, when the gunshot was heard.