P15-M gadgets, novelty items seized in Iloilo

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Customs (BOC) scored anew in its anti-smuggling drive following the recent seizure of 81 sacks containing smuggled assorted electronic gadgets and novelty items worth some P15 million at the Iloilo International Airport.

Prior to the operation, BOC Commissioner Ruffy Biazon directed the bureau’s Intelligence and Investigation Service, under the helm of Ricky Rebong, to conduct rigid inspection at the Iloilo airport after receiving an intelligence report that smuggled electronic gadgets and novelty items had arrived in the country. The smuggled items included iPads and cell phones.

In his report to Biazon, Rebong said the smuggled items were flown to Iloilo last March 8 and that no consignee surfaced to claim them.

Meanwhile, Biazon’s men have also seized 94,000 sacks of smuggled Vietnamese rice worth P135 million during an inspection in the Port of Legazpi in Albay.