MANILA, Philippines — Officials from the Bureau of Customs led the physical examination of five shipments containing millions worth of smuggled sugar and cigarettes at the Manila International Container Terminal.
According to the bureau, Saturday, the operation was held last Friday after the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-MICP recommended the issurance of alert orders after receiving "derogatory information" about the shipments.
Three of the shipments were from Hong Kong while two were from mainland China. The examination revealed around P90,442,850 worth of smuggled cigarettes and sugar inside the five containers.
"These contrabands threaten the economy and put Filipino consumers at risk. I’d like to assure everyone that we are equally relentless in our efforts to keep our borders secure from these smuggling activities," according to Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio.
The containers supposedly arrived in the country bwetween January 5 and February 12, 2023, all of which were said to be either misdeclared or undeclared.
Intelligence Group Deputy Commissioner Juvymax Uy said the agency had been "actively monitoring" information about shipments that possibly contain smuggled goods in an effort to curb their entry to the Philippines.
"We cannot stress it enough: it is unlawful to bring products into the Philippines without the proper permits. By now, these unscrupulous groups should understand the severity of our non-stop campaign against their illegal activities," said Uy.
Corresponding seizure and forfeiture proceedings will be conducted against the subject shipments for violatioon of Section 1113 (Goods Liable for Seizure and Forfeiture) in relation to Section 117 (Regulated Goods) of Republic Act 10863, also known as the Customs Modernization and Tafiff Act, among other laws and regulations.
Case records will also be immediately referred to the Bureau's Action Team Against Smugglers (BATAS) for case build-up and filing of ciminal cases against those reponsible for the illegal importation of the subject agricultural and tobacco products, — James Relativo