Alert personnel of the Customs X-Ray Inspection Project (XIP) have foiled an attempt to smuggle some 700,000 pieces of blank Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs) which illegally arrived at the Port of Cebu.
XIP head and lawyer Lourdes Mangaoang said the seizure came after the shipment's consignee, ZAKHRIS General Merchandise of Mabolo, Cebu presented a fake import permit to Customs authorities.
She said the importation of DVDs requires the approval of the Optical Media Board.
“It was certified by OMB Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ronnie Ricketts that their documents were fake,” Mangaoang said.
The XIP placed the total value of the confiscated DVDs at P6 million. They were found stacked in a 20-footer container van.
“If smugglers think that some out-ports of the Bureau of Customs are lax, they are definitely wrong. All BoC regulated ports in the country are on a 24/7 alert mode for suspicious shipments,” Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon said.source: mb.com.ph
