Sugar smuggling intercepted

The Bureau of Customs readied seizure proceedings against the interception of 1,547 bags of refined sugar from Thailand last week, while the Sugar Regulatory Administration readied legal sanctions against the owner of a WillChan Trading of Quezon City.

But the SRA and the BOC as well as the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) are eyeing the rest of some 30 container vans brought into the country and waiting for clandestine delivery.

The three container vans intercepted last week were reportedly just part of the 30 brought into the country.

The interception of the smuggled sugar came shortly after the two federations of su­gar farmers asked Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra to seek a statement from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines to support the sugar industry’s call for the government to intensify its efforts to curb sugar smuggling.

The petitions, from both the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) and the Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations Inc. (CONFED) pointed out that the continued smuggling of sugar into the country has depressed domestic sugar prices and threaten the livelihood of some five million Filipinos dependent on the industry for their livelihood.

SRA Administrator Rafael Coscolluela identified the consignee of the intercepted sugar as WillChan Trading at #27 Mayon Street, Quezon City. The estimated value of the undocumented sugar shipment was estimated at P2.1 million.

Intelligence agents of the SMAS-TF reported that there were actually 30 container vans brought recently into the country. Surveillance showed that some were in container vans, others already unloaded and still others already loaded on board delivery trucks, all within the premises of the pinpointed warehouse.

Coscolluelas said when he asked the PASG to hold the sugar pending formal seizure proceedings when no one in the establishment could present documents covering the sugar shipment.

WillChan Trading, according to SRA regulation officers, is not an SRA-licensed sugar trader nor a food processor. It does have a “D sugar” allocation. The apprehending report said they were given only an NFA grains dealer permit and a Quezon City business permit. The premises also yielded only imported flour and rice.

As of press time, the SRA-PASG team are still eyeing the rest of the 30 container vans purportedly containing smuggled sugar.