Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
MANILA – The Bureau of Customs (BOC) said it intercepted the attempt to smuggle a total of 146,000 liters of unmarked fuel amounting to millions of pesos in Mariveles, Bataan on Saturday.
The bureau also impounded the motorized tanker used to transport the fuel, according to a press statement.
BOC-CIIS Director Verne Enciso said the estimated value of the fuel and 16 lorry trucks is placed at PHP88 million, while the vessel is PHP60 million.
The operation in Barangay Alas Asin was carried out by agents of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service at the Manila International Container Port and National Bureau of Investigation – Anti-Organized and Transnational Crime Division following a tip.
“Our agents went to the anchorage area upon receiving information that there were several vessels carrying alleged smuggled fuel and thereafter being transferred to lorry trucks. A significant challenge in this operation is that this happened in a private port without BOC personnel, so the intel we received is critical,” Customs Commissioner Bien Rubio said in a statement. — Ferdinand Patinio (PNA)
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Credit belongs to: www.pna.gov.ph
