Expensive cars destroyed to teach smugglers a lesson

MANILA (AP) - Gleaming luxury cars were reduced to crushed glass, twisted metal and tattered leather Thursday as officials oversaw the destruction of 18 vehicles smuggled into a former U.S. naval base that is now a tax-free port.

A Lincoln Navigator, three BMW X5s, a Chevrolet Camper and a Mitsubishi GTO sports car were among the vehicles worth a total of P30 million (US$652,000) crushed by backhoes at the Subic Bay Freeport as Finance Secretary Margarito Teves and customs officials watched.

The cars were destroyed on orders from President Gloria Arroyo "to send a message and also because it's common knowledge that if we auction them, the smugglers also win so it defeats the purpose," said Arroyo's aide, Cerge Remonde.

The government hopes the example will serve as a deterrent to smugglers, Teves said.