Customs exposes 'consignee for hire' scheme of smugglers

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Customs has ordered the seizure of 18 containers loaded with an assortment of smuggled goods that included a used Kia Carnival and a Hyundai Starex, musical instruments, ceramic tiles and high-velocity electric fans.

Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez said the smuggled goods worth at least P31 million were intercepted by the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service – Operations Section(CIIS-OS) in a series of operations that also exposed the activities of a so-called “consignee-for-hire.”

CIIS Director Filomeno Vicencio Jr. said six of the 16 containers were consigned to a company called Cren Trading.

Among Cren Trading’s imported commodities that the BOC seized at the Port of Manila were two containers of used clothing, a container of used home appliances, a container of PVC flooring and two containers of ceramic tiles with combined dutiable value of P6.2 million.

CIIS operations chief Eric Alabano disclosed that Cren Trading used to have a registered office in Quiapo, Manila.

“However, a recent check showed that another firm now occupies that Quiapo office. We suspect that Cren Trading just changed its business name to circumvent the law,” Albano said.

Alvarez ordered the conduct of an internal investigation to determine if certain Customs personnel were involved in the foiled smuggling attempts.