Customs to auction smuggled rice, TV sets

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is expected to collect at least P75.62 million from the auction of 2.39 million kilos (2,392 metric tons) of smuggled rice and television sets tomorrow.

The rice shipments, housed in 105 20-foot shipping containers, will be sold in three lots, the BOC said.

The lots comprise 47,840 50-kg bags of white rice and 5,200 bags of malagkit (glutinous) rice. The white rice is priced at P25.87 per kilo, while glutinous rice is at P48.66 per kilo.

The rice arrived at the Port of Manila between September and December 2013.

The BOC said 72 containers of the seized rice were imported by Bold Bidder Marketing, which was linked to alleged rice smuggler David Tan. The rest of the shipments were consigned to San Carlos Multi-Purpose Cooperative.

The seized TV sets consist of five 60-inch, two 80-inch and one 90-inch Sharp Aquos LCD Smart TV sets.