DAVAO CITY—The Bureau of Customs (BOC) here foiled an attempt last week to smuggle an undeclared sport-utility vehicle (SUV) after an x-ray scanning revealed the image of the car at the inner portion of the container van.
The container van was supposed to contain only a used dump truck and a tractor head, Davao District Collector Erastus Sandino B. Austria said.
Austria earlier issued a warrant of seizure and detention on March 12, instructing the Customs Police to confiscate the shipment’s contents. The warrant was issued following an alert order from Customs Commissioner Isidro S. Lapeña in Manila. He said the declared dump truck was placed at the opening of the container, blocking access and view to the back of the container. “And, smugglers hide items they want to smuggle at the back of the container.”
“Upon physical inspection, our Customs examiner confirmed that a car was, indeed, undeclared by the consignee,” Austria said. He also elaborated on other techniques used by smugglers.
“Some smugglers declare that they are importing motor-vehicle parts. But, upon closer inspection, their shipment contains a whole vehicle, with its parts disassembled,” Austria said. “It is easy for mechanics to piece together these parts.”
Lapeña inspected the shipment on Wednesday during his regular port visit at the Port of Davao.
“That’s one of the techniques they do,” Lapeña said during his inspection. He was referring to how the shipment was arranged to make inspection difficult, the Customs information office said.