DIOSDADO MACAPAGAL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT – The Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) has announced the arrest of a U.S. citizen on Thursday following a complaint from two Korean nationals.
The corporate communications department of CIAC identified the American national as Julio Cesar Sanchez, 35, who claimed he disliked Koreans.
The Koreans reported their missing luggage to CIAC security department and positively identified Sanchez as the suspect.
Sanchez was arrested by combined personnel of the CIAC security department, Aviation Security Unit of the Philippine National Police and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group after the CCTV footage showed him as the culprit.
Sanchez arrived aboard an Asiana Airlines flight from Incheon, South Korea on December 24.
Jaime Alberto Melo, CIAC president, said Sanchez’s arrest came after two Korean nationals, identified as Jo Seungcheol, 28, and Cha Gunmin, 14, reported to their airline and the CIAC Passenger Assistance Desk of their missing luggage.
“Security and safety are our utmost consideration here at Clark airport,” Melo said, adding that the state-of-theart CCTV equipment at the airport were crucial in immediately solving the incident.
The Koreans are students at the SMEAG Global School, Inc. and arrived here aboard a JinAir flight also from Incheon on December 24.
“Our CCTV footages determined the suspect as a male and bearded Caucasian with a black cap who picked up two black-colored luggage at the conveyor area. Another CCTV angle was also able to capture the plate number of the suspect’s vehicle upon leaving the airport premises,” Melo said.
The suspect was traced to have stayed at the Royal Apartelle in Angeles City and an airport security officer managed to convince the hotel manager to reveal the suspect’s room number.
Upon apprehension, Sanchez allegedly confessed that he purposely took the two luggage from the conveyor because he “disliked Koreans.”
The suspect, currently detained at the CIDG station in Angeles City, said he is willing to compensate for all the missing items that were in the luggage.
