ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - Customs Commissioner John Sevilla vowed to tap all the assistance of the law enforcement agencies, including the police and military, to ensure that the 152,000 sacks of smuggled rice seized Monday dawn off Sulu will not be recovered by the smugglers.
Sevilla, who attended the Senate inquiry on the incident, said his people led by Bureau of Customs Deputy Commissioner Jessie Dellosa with the navy, marines, and even the Bureau of Immigration (BID) have conducted inventory and investigation on the smuggled rice aboard a Vietnamese vessel and four Filipino vessels.
Sevilla described the seized smuggled rice as its biggest haul in a single operation against rice smuggling, where navy and marines intercepted a Vietnam registry vessel and four Filipino vessels all loaded with imported rice off Pata Island, Sulu.
“This was the biggest haul of smuggled rice compared to the previous cases of rice smuggling that were intercepted. I want to make sure that all hands on deck on this case,” Sevilla said.
The foreign cargo vessel M/V AN BIEN-89-ALCI with 16 Vietnamese crews and skippered by captain Nguyen Van Loi was originally loaded with 152,000 sacks of imported rice.
The said smuggled rice was consigned from the Sunrise Ship and Trading Company by a certain Alfarsi Tan Hasiman from Jolo, Sulu, according to Ensign Chester Ian Ramos, spokesman of the Task Group Zambasulta.
Investigation disclosed the foreign cargo vessel arrived on February 19 from Mythoi Port Vietnam carrying 152,000 sacks of rice and started to unload last Friday. The local vessels reportedly transported the smuggled rice to different areas in Mindanao.
The combined navy and marines intercepted along with the Vietnamese vessel were four Filipino vessels MV Delta Queen loaded with 20,000 smuggled sacks of rice, M/L Boy I with 7,000 sacks; M/L Fatima Nurmina with 1,000 sacks of rice; and M/L KH loaded with 7,000 sacks of rice.
Aboard those apprehended ships were 16 Vietnamese and 157 Filipino crews and laborers - mostly of the laborers were hired from Sulu, and 12 assault rifles, including M14 and M16 rifles with M203 grenade launcher.
Sevilla said the 16 Vietnam nationals were described to be “potentially illegal aliens.”
Bureau of Immigration officer Usman Sabdani said they were checking the documents of the apprehended Vietnamese nationals and expecting violations for illegal entry into the Philippine waters.