Luxury cars seized by Customs

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) seized yesterday six smuggled luxury vehicles and several auto parts imported from Japan valued at about P20 million at the South Harbor in Manila .

Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Enforcement Group (IEG) George Jereos said he ordered Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) chief Angel Africa to issue an alert order (AO) on the shipments which came in two 40-foot container vans from Kobe, Japan.

Jereos said the AO was issued on the basis of a derogatory report he received earlier.

When inspected, Customs authorities found the six vehicles that were not declared in the import entries. Found inside one container consigned to Chian Trading were one black Mercedes Benz SEL sedan, one silver gray BMW sedan including bucket seats.

The shipment was declared as eight cabin assemblies with accessories, eight bodies with sidings, 15 units gasoline engines, five front and rear axles, and 25 door assemblies.

The shipment, consigned to Mito Trading and misdeclared as used truck replacement parts, actually contained a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, a Toyota Surf, a Mitsubishi MacArthur-type jeep, a chassis for a Mitsubishi Pajero and other automotive surplus parts, Jereos said. – Jerry Botial