P10-M smuggled rice seized in Cebu legally imported

CEBU — The alleged P10 million worth of smuggled rice shipment seized from a warehouse in Mandaue City on Tuesday is legally imported.

This was the declaration of Datu Michael Abas-Kida. In a faxed statement, he said the 17,000 sacks of rice were actually part of the shipment from Batangas City and Cagayan de Oro City imported under the government’s Farmers-as-Importers Program.

The rice shipments, according to Abas-Kida, were properly documented with the required taxes and duties duly paid at the unloading port and even Customs Commissioner Antonio Bernardo cleared the shipment.

He said the transshipments were openly declared as imported rice whether shipped to Cebu City as breakbulk cargo or in containerized vans.

Abas-Kida complained that the seizure of the cargo was done without a search warrant.

Abas-Kida has threatened to file charges of robbery, illegal trespassing and grave coercion against the customs police for breaking into the warehouse without legal basis and for forcibly taking the 11 truckloads of rice to the Cebu International Port.

Customs special agent James Aguilar, who led the seizure operations, said they found the LCT Emilia docking at the F.F. Cruz private wharf at 3:20 a.m. on Tuesday. The barge had 10-wheeler trucks on board that were loaded with rice. Aguilar said he saw the trucks roll-off the barge and then move towards Subangdaku, Mandaue City.

Three of the trucks were held at the Cebu International Port. Another team pursued the seven other trucks. The chase ended at the warehouse of Kenwood compound in Subangdaku. — Freeman News Service