Smuggling remains unchecked in Leyte

Isabel, Leyte – Local police here confirmed that smuggling still exists in this town probably because of the presence of foreign vessels passing and docking at an international port of the Leyte Industrial Development Estate (LIDE) of this municipality. The LIDE caters the Philippine Associated Smelter and Refinery and the Philippine Phospate (Philphos) which are all multinational companies.

This was proven when local police seized several sacks of imported rice believed to be smuggled from a foreign vessel.

SPO4 Virgilio Sanico, the PNP chief investigator here told The Star that at about 8:30 a.m. last week they received a phone call informing them that four motorized pump boats carrying rice were unloading at the shoreline in Barangay Bantigue. He said that upon arriving at the area they caught several people unloading from the pump boats sacks of rice believed to be imported from Vietnam prompting them to apprehend several persons including the alleged smuggler identified as Ricardo Lingga­nay, 40, married, a resident of Sitio Lawis, Poblacion here. Sanico said that a total of 188 sacks were recovered by the police during the incident.

The seized rice were brought to the town port here and later delivered to the local office of the Bureau of Customs here.

Sanico said that the smuggled rice was unloaded from a passing foreign ship to a local contact near Calanggaman  Island by the crew of a Vietnamese vessel. He said he learned such operations from several persons including Lingga­nay. Sanico said that the Bureau of Customs is already readying charges against Lingganay and company. – Roberto Dejon