Alleged Chinese smuggler nabbed; 62 container vans held

Police officers collared a suspected smuggler of plastic resin and blocked the release of 62 container vans purportedly filled with millions of pesos worth of smuggled goods, GMANews.TV learned Monday. Sammy Lee, a Chinese, is now being interrogated at the Camp Crame by operatives of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG), GMA 7’s DZBB reported. Lee was arrested Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. He had reportedly tried to sneak out three container vans filled with plastic resin from the Bureau of Customs (BOC) offices in Port Area, Manila. PNP and BOC officials seized the remaining 59 vans for inspection and inventory. Lee is included in the list of notorious smugglers nationwide which the BOC submitted to the Senate in 2004. Senators were investigating reports on rampant smuggling allegedly masterminded by businessmen who name-dropped First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo. News reports said Lee tried to bribe a policeman with P300,000 to let him go scot-free. -GMANews.TV