BOC seizes P20-million smuggled vans, high-end goods

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Customs (BOC) recently seized P20 million worth of high-end goods, including electrical appliances and three Starex vans, that arrived at the Port of Manila.

BOC Deputy Commissioner Horacio Suansing said the goods arrived in eight shipping containers reportedly imported from Singapore, Korea and Taiwan. They include high-end plasma and LCD television sets, Sony PlayStations, digital cameras, Philips DVD players, and branded perfumes.

“These were declared in its import entry as household items worth $1,500, but its true value was estimated to be $15 million,” he said.

The importer was identified as Quick Flo Trading, the same firm that was charged by the BOC with smuggling last month before the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Suansing said the shipment presented yesterday arrived two months ago before the case was filed before the DOJ.

The agency’s enforcement team also confiscated three Starex vans brought in from Korea. The items were not covered by import permits from the Bureau of Import Services (BIS). Each unit is reportedly worth P800,000.

They also impounded five shipping containers with 2,250 bags of 4a Zeolite, which is used in the manufacture of laundry detergent. It was confiscated because the Bureau of Food and Drugs said consignee Philko Peroxide Corp.’s license to import hazardous substances expired in 2005.

The items, if auctioned off, could generate P18 million additional revenue for the BOC, Suansing said.