An estimated P86 million price of sugar that was declared as footwear rubber used within the manufacturing of footwear and flip-flops was seized on the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.
According to Cedric Castillo’s report on “24 Oras,” operatives of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Bureau of Customs (BOC) seized the over 800,000 kilos of refined sugar final March 15.
“We’ve apprehended 15,648 bags of refined sugar… it came from Hong Kong. Estimated value namin is about P86 million… ‘Yung iba kasing nagsa-smuggle they pretend at least, no? Tinatago man lang sa likod or sa gitna ng container. But this one, when we opened, it’s really sugar,” mentioned BOC Assistant Commissioner, Attorney Vincent Maronilla.
The cargo was introduced in by an organization that had been beforehand caught allegedly smuggling sugar, onions, and different agricultural merchandise by way of the Manila International Container Port.
The mentioned firm’s permits had already been suspended in accordance with the BOC.
This is the third cargo of allegedly smuggled sugar intercepted on the port of Subic this month.
Two weeks in the past, authorities seized 30,000 sacks of sugar that had been declared as building supplies.
“Same modus kasi e. We are thinking these belong to the same syndicate or the same group,” Maronilla added.
“Binibigyan na po natin ng sistema on how to dispose of that. We wrote already the secretary of the Department of Finance na kung pwede natin po itong mabenta sa ating pong mga kadiwa stores,” mentioned DA Assisstant Secretary Rex Estoperez.
Meanwhile, the BOC was monitoring different corporations that had been allegedly illegally importing agricultural merchandise into the nation. — Sherylin Untalan/DVM, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
