BY BETHEENA UNITE
Close to 700 bales of used clothes or “ukay-ukay” worth P4.5 million imported by a consignee recently sued by the Bureau of Customs (BoC) for smuggling cigarettes were intercepted at the Port of Cebu.
A total of 694 bales of ukay-ukay were found in a shipment from China which was declared to contain hotel supplies. It has an estimated market value of P4, 585,000.
According to the bureau, the shipment was consigned to GRR Trading, the same importer whose shipments of cigarettes were seized due to misdeclaration.
Criminal charges were recently filed against GRR Trading before the Department of Justice after it attempted to sneak in several containers of various brands of cigarettes worth P2374.7 million in separate dates through the same port.
The bureau’s Account Management Office (AMO) has also revoked its importer’s accreditation.
The shipment arrived at the Port of Cebu on August 20. Due to the successive seizures of previous shipments from the same importer, the container was subjected to x-ray inspection which showed suspicious images.
It was then subjected to physical examination which yielded the prohibited items intended to be sold in the local market, District Collector Charlito Martin Mendoza said.
A warrant of seizure and detention was already issued against the shipment for violation of Republic Act No. 4653 prohibiting the importation of used clothing to safeguard the health of the people and maintain the dignity of the nation.
