Suspected smuggled rice seized

CEBU, Philippines -  The Cebu Coast Guard Station confiscated suspected smuggled rice that arrived in Cebu from General Santos City yesterday morning.

Cebu Coast Guard station commander Rolando Punzalan said that at least 23 container vans arrived at pier 8 around 11 a.m.

Punzalan said a tipster informed them of the container vans on board Super Shuttle Roro 8.

“It’s positive that it contained rice. It has no NFA shipping clearance when we inspected it,” said Punzalan.

Punzalan said the shipment was later turned over to the National Food Authority pending investigation.

The Coast Guard did not say the amount of the shipment and how many bags of rice were inside the container vans.

According to a Customs broker who refused to be named, a 20-footer container van contains a maximum of 500 bags.

BOC-Cebu district collector Ronnie Silvestre said that they still have to check on the documents of the shipment.

“I still have to check on that. Kasi kung bakit on board a domestic vessel yung rice shipment. Mostly kung smuggled rice, it is on board a foreign vessel,” Silvestre added.

There is a suspicion that the shipment was illegal pending the proper documents from the consignee, the Cebu Lite.

Punzalan said they are not certain whether the consignee is fictitious or not.

Other agencies that joined the confiscation of the shipment were the Coast Guard Detachment-Mandaue City, Naval Intelligence and the Cebu Coast Guard Station Enforcement Team and the Intelligence Team. -/LPM (FREEMAN)