A 20-foot container van filled with 700,000 blank DVDs worth about P6-million was confiscated by the Bureau of Customs yesterday.
The van tried to slip out of the Cebu International Port last March but was apprehended when inspectors from the BOC Cebu X-Ray Inspection Project (XIP) discovered that the documents presented by the consignee Zakhris General Merchandise were fake, said Customs Commissioner Raffy Biazon.
Lourdes Mangaoang, BOC-XIP national head, said all imported cargo undergo X-ray examination to verify the legality of shipments upon their arrival at the port.
“We were alarmed when the blank DVDs arrived because these are used for movie piracy so we asked the importer to show us import permits from the Optical Media Board (OMB) only to discover that they submitted fake documents,” Mangaoang said.
Mangaoang said the confiscation of the DVDs in favor of the government came after the OMB in Manila declared that the importer’s OMB license was fake.
She said that any import shipment is required to undergo examination before a permit to distribute the products in the market is granted.
“Only registered importers can participate in the auction and the money earned will be given to the government,” Mangaoang said.
She said the Customos Bureau will support the OMB in filing criminal charges against the importer.
Biazon reiterated the BOCs serious drive against smuggling.
“The BOC now is not tolerating any illegal activities in our ports,” he said. Careen L. Malahay, Correspondent