BOC seizes P118-M Thai rice

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has confiscated P118 million worth of rice smuggled from Thailand during the last two months of 2015.

In a statement issued yesterday, Commissioner Alberto Lina said 118 20-footer shipping containers of rice arrived at the Manila International Container Port late last year.

The shipment, consigned to the Calumpit Multi-Purpose Cooperative, was seized because it lacked the required import permit from the National Food Authority (NFA), he said.

In a letter sent to the BOC, a representative of the cooperative said the NFA is processing the import permit. The NFA, however, denied the claim.