Untouchable no more

A man identified by senators as an "untouchable" big-time smuggler was arrested by police at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) last Sunday as he arrived from Hong Kong to oversee problems of a shipment in Manila.

His arrest became a prelude to a crackdown on suspected smugglers as the Bureau of Customs (BOC) filed charges yesterday against eight individuals allegedly involved in the smuggling of rice worth P3 million.

Samuel Lee, 41, of Talayan Village, Quezon City, was arrested by operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) upon the suspect’s arrival at the NAIA at 10:30 a.m.

The CIDG said Lee, who came home to check on problems involving the shipment of 62 container vans of plastic resin, allegedly tried to bribe arresting officers with P300,000.

Lee was presented to media yesterday by CIDG director Chief Superintendent Jesus Verzosa and CIDG-Criminal Investigation and Detection Division chief Superintendent Benjamin de los Santos.

Lee and his lawyer Howard Callejo declined to comment on the arrest.

The suspect is now detained at CIDG headquarters at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

Last Saturday, police seized an illegal shipment, allegedly owned by Lee but registered under the name of two firms.

The container vans were transported to a plastic packaging company in Valenzuela City.

De los Santos said Lee would be charged for violating tariff laws as well as bribery before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.

He said the arrest of Lee was carried out by the CIDG after the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines completed a case build-up against him.

The CIDG is now investigating the possible involvement of BOC officials and employees in Lee’s activities.

‘The Swing’

According to the CIDG, the modus operandi of suspected smugglers like Lee is known at Customs as "the swing."

"They import materials and instead of going to the Customs bonded warehouse, where they have to pay tariff, the goods go directly to the end user who will process them into finished products. However, they do not re-export these products," De los Santos said.

He explained that after the materials arrive, importers are supposed to store them at licensed Customs bonded warehouse for processing into finished products.

"In Lee’s case, the plastic packaging company was the end user that should use the materials directly and sell them locally. What they are doing is diverting the goods, which is a violation of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines," the CIDG official said. "They do not pay duties because importation of raw materials is tax-free. They just pay the nominal tariff."

Prior to Lee’s arrest, Verzosa’s men seized three container vans loaded with plastic resin worth P1.15 million.

Lee managed to have them smuggled out of the BOC last March 4, without payment of necessary taxes, De los Santos claimed.

"The shipment was supposed to be delivered to Warehouse No. 1687 at the consignee’s address, but the same was diverted to Consumer Plastic Packaging Corp in Valenzuela City," he pointed out.

The CIDG said 59 other container vans under Lee’s name were placed on alert order at the BOC.

Police have begun coordinating with Customs officials to start government seizure procedures on the goods worth some P100 million.

Prior to police operations, the CIDG received information that Lee had obtained a release of import entry for his shipment last Thursday.

CIDG operatives then trailed three container vans on the way to Valenzuela City.

Raps filed vs 8 others

To show the public the government was serious in its anti-smuggling campaign, Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales went to the Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday to file charges against eight other individuals allegedly involved in the smuggling of rice worth P3 million.

Charged under the bureau’s Run After The Smugglers (RATS) program were Franco Arsistion, manager of Arsicor General Merchandising; Joel Ruiz, owner of Joruan General Merchandise; Wendylyn Cabang, a Customs broker; and Enriquito Dizon, Liberty de Ramos, Walter de Ramos, Elenia Ambrocio, and Josephine Fabro, officers of Great Harbor Forwarding Services Corp.

Morales said the respondents conspired to misdeclare rice as a showcase and packing machine that arrived last Dec. 1 at the Port of Manila from Hong Kong.

The BOC said Cabang was earlier charged for the illegal importation of some P2.5 million worth of ceramic tiles. The case is now at the preliminary investigation stage.

The RATS team, headed by Customs legal services director lawyer Reynaldo Umali, has filed cases against 47 smugglers, brokers and Customs personnel. — With Christina Mendez