BY BETHEENA UNITE
Shipments of rice, cigarettes, and used clothing – known as “ukay ukay” – believed to be smuggled were recently discovered inside two vessels in Zamboanga, the Bureau of Customs (BoC) said.
The undocumented shipments of 51 sacks of rice and 25 master cases of cigarettes worth P1 million were found onboard MV Maria Matilde, a passenger vessel docked in Zamboanga International Port on August 19.
The next day, 34 bales of used clothing worth P450,000 were uncovered inside the MV Filipinas Maasin in Zamboanga del Norte.
According to the Customs bureau, the shipments were seized in joint operations conducted by the Customs Intelligence Group of the Port of Zamboanga together with its partner law enforcement agencies.
The first shipment was seized for lack of permit while the used clothing were held for violation of the Republic Act No. 4653 which prohibits the importation of used clothing, rags, or ‘ukay-ukay’ in commercial quantity to safeguard the health of the people.
Meanwhile, 105 master cases of smuggled cigarettes worth P2.1 million were destroyed through shredding on August 17 in Jolo, Sulu. (Betheena Unite)
