BOC seizes 495 bags of ‘smuggled’ rice

CEBU, Philippines —  At least half-million pesos worth of rice shipment from Kaosiung, Taiwan were seized by the Bureau of Customs in the port of Cebu due to misdeclaration.

The 495 bags of Myanmar white rice, which was declared personal effects, were consigned to a certain Theresa Lawas of Barangay Pansoy, Sogod, Cebu. Enforcement and Security Service headed by Jerry Arizabal said they received derogatory information about the shipment prompting an alert order.

Upon investigation the customs authorities found the consignee listed in the inward foreign manifest was fictitious. According to Arizabal, there was no Theresa Lawas in the given address. The shipment arrived in the port of Cebu from Taiwan on July 23, 2020.

Acting on the derogatory information, District Collector Atty. Charlito Martin R. Mendoza issued on July 29, 2020 a pre-lodgment control order.  A 100 percent physical examination was conducted by Customs Examiner Odilon Bustamante in the presence of representatives from the ESS, X-ray Inspection Project (XIP), Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc. (CCBI)-Cebu Chapter.

“The physical examination yielded 495 bags of Myanmar White Rice, and no personal effects as stated in the manifest. The bags of rice were also not covered by any Sanitary and Phytosanitary Clearance from the Bureau of Plant Industry,” BOC posted on its official Facebook page.

Mendoza issued a Warrant of Seizure and Detention against the shipment for violation of Section 1113 (f) and (l) paragraph 5 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).

The BOC-Cebu also seized various smuggled goods worth over P14 million last month.

The latest apprehension is part of the BOC’s intensified campaign against smuggling. Mendoza also reminded would be importers to properly declare their goods, and to properly identify themselves in the shipping documents.

He also called on the public to report any information about illegal shipments that are attempted to be brought into the country.

“Report what you know, even anonymously, so we can verify, investigate and seize smuggled goods. This way, you are helping the government in our anti-smuggling campaign and in our economic recovery during this pandemic,” Mendoza said. — FPL (FREEMAN)