The Bureau of Customs-Manila International Container Port (MICP), headed by District Collector Erastus Sandino B. Austria, recently seized a total of P12.1 million worth of misdeclared goods, including one unit of a used Bentley Continental GT and one unit of a used Hino truck with crane.
The consignee had originally declared the shipment as used forklift, used diesel engine and other household goods but x-ray scanning proved otherwise, prompting the issuance of an alert order and the conduct of 100% physical examination on the shipment, according to Austria.
Records from the MICP show the shipment came from Japan and arrived on December 17, 2018. It was process
ed by customs broker Tomas James Ydel Delos Santos of Sampaloc, Manila, and consigned to Pulilan Motors Truck Rebuilding, owned by a certain Agustin Mariano Esguerra of 220 Esguerra St., Balatong B, Pulilan, Bulacan.
A warrant of seizure and detention against the shipment was issued by Austria on January 30, 2019.
The shipment owner and the customs broker will face criminal raps for violation of Section 1400 (Misdeclaration, Misclassification, Undervaluation in Goods Declaration) in relation to Section 1113 (Property Subject to Seizure and Forfeiture) of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA). Their Customs accreditation will also be revoked immediately.
