New gang corners market on ‘ukay-ukay’ imports

A newly formed syndicate has allegedly gained control of the smuggling operations at three major ports of the Bureau of Customs (BOC), a source told The STAR yesterday.

The syndicate is reportedly headed by a notorious big-time smuggler who specializes in importing banned used clothing from abroad.

According to the source, the group smuggles at least 400 40-footer container vans of “ukay-ukay” or used clothing, which is banned by the government to protect the local garment industry.

The same source told The STAR that the syndicate has middle-level BOC officials on its payroll to “take care of their illegal shipments at the piers.”

The source also said the shipments are deliberately misdeclared, and BOC officials on its payroll accept the declared contents of the container vans without question.

The entry of the *smuggling syndicate has marginalized small-time smugglers, some of whom were forced to join the new group.

The Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) has already been informed about the new ukay-ukay smuggling group and is reportedly monitoring all its shipments.

The syndicate’s “hitman” was identified by the source as a certain “Bubot,” whose job is to payoff BOC officials in the syndicate’s payroll.

Reports have it that the bureau collects only P20,000 per 40-foot container van and Pl0,000 for every 20-foot container van, whether it contains banned items or highly taxable items.

The syndicate charges its clients Pl20,000 per container van, whether or not it contains banned items, which are usually used clothing from Korea, Japan, Hong Kong or the United States.