Guam Resident Sentenced to 121 Months Imprisonment for Smuggling Drugs from the Philippines

Hagatña, Guam – SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant Fritz Ventura Tady Ganzon, age 40 from Dededo, Guam, was sentenced to 121 months imprisonment with credit for time served by the District Court of Guam.  Ganzon was charged with Conspiracy to Import Fifty or More Grams of Methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 and 960.  The Court also ordered five years of supervised release and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.  In addition, defendants convicted of a federal drug offense may no longer qualify for certain federal benefits. 

Ganzon conspired with others since January 2017 to import methamphetamine from the Philippines into Guam for distribution. Two trips were planned.  On the first trip, a Philippine drug supplier paid for Ganzon’s travel expenses and arranged for the drugs to be delivered to Ganzon.  In April 2017, Ganzon travelled to the Philippines to pick up the drugs, which were concealed in noodle packaging.  Ganzon then smuggled the drugs into Guam on May 5, 2017.  The supplier paid Ganzon $3,000 for importing the drugs.

During April 2017, the Philippine supplier offered Ganzon $2,000 to conduct a second trip to Guam.  On May 1, 2017, Ganzon informed Joel Po Ymballa that he planned to smuggle a kilogram of methamphetamine into Guam.  Ganzon recruited Ymballa to travel with him to the Philippines to act as a lookout and assist with importing the drugs.  Ganzon and Ymballa agreed to deliver the drugs to a Guam distributor for the Philippine supplier.

On May 18, 2017, Ganzon gave Ymballa cash to purchase two round-trip tickets on Philippine Airlines, departing Guam to the Philippines on June 9, 2017, and returning to Guam on June 24, 2017.  At the Guam airport, Ganzon instructed Ymballa to carry $9,000 on his person until they landed in the Philippines.  Once in the Philippines, Ganzon paid for all travel expenses, in addition to methamphetamine that they both smoked.  Ganzon then met with the Philippine drug supplier to obtain the drugs for importation into Guam.  The drugs were wrapped in 23 cellophane bundles and concealed in nine snack boxes.  Ganzon and the Philippine drug supplier placed the snack boxes into Ymballa’s suitcase.  Ymballa’s suitcase was seized upon arrival at the airport in Guam.  The Drug Enforcement Administration Southwest Laboratory determined that the 23 bundles contained 969.5 grams of methamphetamine, with 98% purity.

“This case reveals that drugs in Guam are sourced from many locations, including overseas,” stated United States Attorney Anderson.  “Our federal and local partnerships are key to interdicting this criminal activity.  I applaud the efforts of Homeland Security Investigations in protecting our homeland from these threats.”

“Together with our federal law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s office we will continue to investigate and prosecute distributors like Ganzon who bring methamphetamine to our community,” said John F. Tobon, Special Agent in Charge, HSI Honolulu. “Dangerous drugs like meth are a global scourge and we have zero tolerance for them here.”

This investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from Guam Customs and Quarantine.  It was prosecuted by Laura C. Sambataro and Rosetta L. San Nicolas, Assistant United States Attorneys in the District of Guam.