January 13, 2015
Sun Star Zamboanga
By Bong Garcia
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) has begun investigating the "disappearance" of more than 800 sacks or 42.2 tons of confiscated smuggled sugar in the custody of the BOC-Zamboanga District Office.
Zamboanga City Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar requested the investigation after she discovered that 844 of the 1,170 sacks of the seized sugar are missing.
The sugar was intercepted last Tuesday by a police, military and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) team near a beach in the village of Bolong, 32.60 kilometers east of Zamboanga City.
The shipment is estimated to be worth P2.5 million, based on the prevailing market price of sugar at P43 a kilo.
Customs Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Jessie Dellosa, who arrived in Zamboanga City on Tuesday, is leading the probe.
Dellosa said most of the smuggled sugar disappeared while being transported from M/L Ylaiza Maye V to the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) warehouse in the local wharf.
Dellosa said eight cargo trucks were "commissioned" to transport the sugar but only three trucks arrived at the warehouse.
"I was informed that it was the Customs (district) collector who commissioned the trucks but unfortunately, the trucks are owned by the owner of the confiscated sugar," Dellosa added.
BOC-Zamboanga District Collector Miguel Pio Saquisami cannot explain what happened to the five trucks. The Ylaiza Maye V was moored just around 120 meters from the PPA warehouse.
In a press conference at City Hall called by Salazar, Saquisami refused to identify the owner of the smuggled sugar.
Reference: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/zamboanga/local-news/2015/01/13/probe-starts-d...