Customs seizes P33M worth of smuggled goods

Bureau of Customs (BOC) operatives have seized smuggled goods at the Port of Manila (POM) and Manila International Container Port (MICP), valued at P33 million, the bureau said on Monday.

Forty-footer container vans contained rice, houseware products, vape, make-ups, fake-branded shoes, ukay-ukay, office chairs, and wheel rims.

BOC chief Isidro Lapeña said the shipments from China arrived on separate dates and were consigned to IT Malingco Trading Corporation, Abundanceprime Chemicals Trading Corporation, Archerson Trading, Sto. Nino Marketing, and Fastworth Marketing.

The customs brokers who respectively signed the shipments were  Erlinda Dumalaog, Mohammad Salman Cosain Amerol, Christian Lao, Christine May Burlaza, and Henry Ferrer, according to the bureau.

“A warrant of seizure and detention were already issued by the Office of the District Collector for their high disregard to the customs laws implemented by the Bureau,” Lapeña said.

According to a separate report on Balitanghali by Marisol Abdurahman, BOC agents also found a white substance.

“The white substance found inside the container of Abundanceprime and examined by Customs Anti-Illegal Drugs Taskforce tested negative for illegal drugs,” Lapeña noted.

Undeclared sacks of rice were also discovered by BOC agents.

“We cannot yet divulge the actual number of sacks inside the container, since the Customs examiners are still doing an inventory of the smuggled rice,” Lapeña noted.

Lapeña said the import permits of the importers and customs brokers “are automatically suspended following the discovery of the smuggled items.”
 
“We will continue the ground inspection to remind the importers that we are serious in our campaign against smuggling. They have to correct their ways and stop the rampant misdeclaration and undervaluation and as it defrauds the government of its rightful revenues,” Lapeña said.

Reforms are gaining ground at the BOC, with the bureau surpassing its collection goals, the Customs chief noted.

In April, the BOC exceeded its April target by 2.4 percent with total collections of P47.578 billion against the collection target of P46.464 billion to post a surplus of P1.114 billion. —Anna Felicia Bajo/VDS, GMA News