U.S. Airman Wanted For Allegedly Pilfering Over $40M Of Oil In Iraq To Be Deported

Manila, Philippines (AHN) - The Philippine government on Wednesday announced that a former U.S. Air Force serviceman who is wanted in the state of Virginia for allegedly pilfering over $40 million of military oil supplies while on duty in Iraq in 2007, will be deported back to the U.S. to face criminal charges.

The Philippine Bureau of Immigration said 56-year-ol Robert John Jeffrey is wanted by U.S. federal authorities and has a pending warrant of arrest issued by a district court in Eastern Virginia for pilferage of oil supplies at a U.S. military base in Iraq.

Jeffrey was arrested by local immigration authorities based on the request and information provided b y the U.S. Embassy in Manila, in November last year at a bar in Angeles City, in central Philippines.

The suspect arrived in Manila on April 27, 2008 and was given a 21-day tourist visa by the Philippine government.

However, the U.S. government has already suspended Jeffrey's passport making him an undocumented and overstaying alien in the Philippines.

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said a team of U.S. Marshalls will arrive in Manila to fetch Jeffrey and escort him back to the U.S. to stand trial. A district court in Eastern Virginia issued a warrant of arrest for Jeffrey on August 8, 2008.

Records show Jeffrey, conspired with other suspected military personnel to systematically pilfer petroleum and oil products inside a U.S. military base in Iraq.