The Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) has seized around P100 million worth of imported threads and yarns from two knitting and color processing plants in Sta. Maria town in Bulacan and Valenzuela City.
PASG chief Undersecretary Antonio Villar said the hot merchandise was seized after the owners of the plant failed to present valid import documents.
He said the PASG has the right to spot-check all warehouses suspected as fronts for smuggling.
A PASG team headed by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) head agent Ross Bautista zeroed in on the Mayers Knitting Inc. and Colortex Processing factories on Tindalo street, Barrio Sta. Clara in Sta. Maria town last week.
Bautista’s team found inside the factory’s warehouse stocks of imported threads and yarns which were the subject of the spot-check after the PASG received an intelligence report that these were allegedly smuggled out of the Bureau of Customs with the help of some corrupt personnel.
A certain Andrew Cheung, who claimed to be a representative of the two firms, admitted that the questioned threads and yarns were imported by Red Flower Group Inc., a Customs bonded warehouse (CBW), which allegedly subcontracted Colortex and Mayers.
But Cheung failed to present valid import documents for the threads and yarns and even for the various imported machines used in their business. Instead, he asked that he be given ample time to produce such documents.
Last Wednesday, a sister company in Valenzuela City, Oversea Warp Knitting Inc., was also raided and the same kind of imported threads and yarns from Malaysia and China were found in its warehouse.
A load of 440 cartons of the same commodity was spotted being unloaded from a container van.
Like Cheung, the company representative identified as Rosemarie Manusa also pleaded for time to produce valid import documents.
“By asking that they be given ample time to produce the alleged import documents only showed the companies were engaged in some sort of illegal activity. I am not prejudging them. But experience tells me they are into smuggling,” Villar alleged in a statement.
He ordered PASG director for operations and NBI deputy director Atty. Edmund Arugay to widen its investigation to find out who were the Customs people responsible for allowing the allegedly smuggled items out of the BOC without paying the corresponding dues and taxes.
“This action of PASG is congruent to the long-time appeal of the business sector to help curb rampant smuggling that has been hurting legitimate businessmen in the import and export industry,” Villar said.
The PASG is poised to file charges of violation of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines for undervaluation and diversion against the owners of the firms.