The Bureau of Customs (BOC) Port of Cebu intercepted 495 bags of Myanmar white rice with an estimated value of P525,857.
The August 10 seizure stemmed from confidential information received by the port’s Enforcement Security Service (ESS) that a shipment which arrived at the Port of Cebu from Port from Kaohsiung, Taiwan on July 23 was loaded with imported rice.
The manifest declared the shipment to contain personal effects of a certain Theresa Lawas, allegedly a resident of Barangay Pansoy, Municipality of Sogod, Cebu. ESS operatives found no resident with that name in the barangay.
BOC Cebu acting district collector Atty. Charlito Martin Mendoza issued a pre-lodgment control order against the shipment on July 29, 2020.
A 100% physical examination revealed bags of Myanmar white rice without sanitary and phytosanitary clearance from the Bureau of Plant Industry.
Mendoza issued a Warrant of Seizure and Detention against the shipment.
“Report what you know, even anonymously, so we can verify, investigate and seize smuggled goods. This way, you are helping the government in our anti-smuggling campaign and bolster economic recovery during this pandemic,” urged Mendoza.
