Customs seizes over P500k worth of smuggled rice in Cebu port

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) said Wednesday its operatives at the Port of Cebu have intercepted over half a million pesos worth of smuggled rice.

The BOC said 495 bags of Myanmar White Rice were seized at the Port of Cebu on August 10.

“This latest apprehension is the result of the intelligence and investigative work of the Port’s Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) headed by District Commander SPAS Jerry M. Arizabal,” the Customs said in a statement.

It said the ESS received confidential information that a shipment which arrived at the Port of Cebu from Kaohsiung, Taiwan on July 23 was loaded with imported rice.

“The Inward Foreign Manifest declared the shipment to contain personal effects of the consignee, a certain Theresa Lawas who is allegedly a resident of Barangay Pansoy, Municipality of Sogod, Cebu,” the BOC said.

“ESS operatives checked with Barangay Pansoy and confirmed that it had no resident named Theresa Lawas,” it added.

Acting on the information, Acting District Collector Atty. Charlito Martin Mendoza issued a Pre-Lodgement Control Order against the shipment on July 29.

“A 100% physical examination was subsequently 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 BOC said.

The physical examination yielded 495 bags of Myanmar White Rice, and no personal effects as stated in the manifest, it said.

The bags of rice were also not covered by any Sanitary and Phytosanitary Clearance from the Bureau of Plant Industry.

Consequently, the acting District collector issued a Warrant of Seizure and Detention against the shipment for violation of Section 1113(f) and (l) par. 5 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA). — Ted Cordero/RSJ, GMA News