BOC strike force nets 30 cars

Agents of the Bureau of Customs seized yesterday 30 smuggled cars as they were about to be unloaded at the Port of Manila.

Customs Commissioner Antonio Bernardo has issued warrants of seizure and detention on the luxury cars to pave the way for their disposal through public auction.

They included a Lexus, Firebird, Camarro, Camry, Wrangler, Windom, Honda Accord, Nissan Bluebird, and sportscars of the Porche type.

Bernardo said the cars were misdeclared as auto spare parts.

Larry Palad, customs bureau special strike force operations team leader, said the cars were on two container ships that had arrived from Hongkong and Hawaii.

Palad said he and his men were on a rubber boat in the breakwater off Manila Bay awaiting the two ships loaded with contraband.

Acting on an intelligence information from Ray Nocolas, special assistant to the Customs commissioner, Palad said they immediately surrounded and secured the area where the 30 cars were being unloaded from 40-footer container vans.

His men used a scanning machine to confirm the intelligence report that highly-dutiable, brand new cars were inside the container vans that should have been immediately transhipped to Subic Bay Freeport, Palad added.

Meanwhile, Bernardo said Customs agents also seized yesterday a container van of fresh onions from Australia, with an estimated value of P2 million.

The contraband was seized by Maj. Isabelo Tibayan of the Customs Police, he added.