Japanese caught with ¥4 M at NAIA

Customs authorities at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) confiscated four million yen (approximately P1.488 million) from a Japanese national who planed in from Narita on a Japan Airlines flight Thursday night.

Duty collector Emy Balatbat said they received a tip that Japanese national Akihito Iida is bringing in four million yen.

When Customs examiner Rene Agulan asked him if he has anything to declare, Iida just gave the Customs declaration form without declaring the money in his clutch bag.

Iida was invited for questioning, and Customs officers called an interpreter from Japan Airlines to tell him that Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) rules prohibit him from bringing more than P10,000 or its equivalent in foreign currency into the country without declaring it.

Iida said he has no knowledge of the BSP regulation. Balatbat said that while Iida can claim ignorance, he will still need a lawyer to settle the issue. Iida’s money is in the Customs vault at NAIA Terminal 1 for safekeeping.        – Rudy Santos