3 Filipinos convicted of importing weapons into U.S.

   Three Philippine nationals were convicted Monday in Los Angeles of illegally importing military grade weapons into the United States after being caught in a sting operation that was conducted in the Philippines, the Justice Department said.
   Sergio Syjuco, 26; Cesar Ubaldo, 27; and Arjyl Revereza, 26, were convicted after a four-week trial by a federal jury in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California of conspiring to illegally import the weapons into the United States, and aiding and abetting the import of those weapons. The defendants were charged in an indictment filed Jan. 12.
   According to the evidence presented at trial, the defendants conspired to sell high-powered military and assault weapons to a buyer interested in bringing weapons into the United States to arm drug dealers in Mexican drug cartels and Mexican Mafia gang members. The weapons included a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, a mortar launcher, an M203 single-shot grenade launcher and 12 Bushmaster machine guns, as well as explosives including mortars and grenades. The trial evidence demonstrated the defendants also illegally imported into the United States the highest level military body armor.
   The weapons, which were tracked and safeguarded by the FBI during their shipment, landed in Long Beach, Calif., on June 7, 2011, where they were seized by the FBI.
   At sentencing, which is scheduled for June 10, 2013, each defendant faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for conspiracy to import weapons into the United States, as well as 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine for causing the import of all of the weapons, excluding the 12 fully automatic Bushmaster firearms.
   In addition, Syjuco and Revereza face a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine for causing the import of all of the weapons in this case, and five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for causing the import of the 12 fully automatic Bushmaster firearms in this case, the Justice Department said.