Customs seizes P5-M Korean ‘chop-chop’ cars

Customs personnel opened a container van housing the disassembled parts of six South Korean used vehicles worth P5 million at the Cebu port area yesterday.

Customs district collector Ronnie Sylvestre said they issued a certificate of forfeiture for the vehicle parts, which included six car batteries, hoods and motor components.

They were shipped from South Korea to Cebu last June 25, he said.

“If all the parts would be assembled, they would complete all six cars,” he said.

Based on the Customs inventory, the van contained one Kia Spectra, one HD Grandeur XG 1999, one DW Matis 1998 and three HD Sonata. All vehicles were left-hand drive.

The contents of the van were supposed to be delivered to a certain Aya Day Trading firm in Cebu City. Sylvestre said the buyer only declared the car parts.

But he said Customs received a report that the container van carried disassembled parts of the motor vehicles.

“ The parts constitute complete motor vehicles,” Sylvestre told reporters in an interview.

He said they would charge the consignee for violation of Executive Order 156 or the Violation Against Importation of Used Motor Vehicle.

Sylvestre said their legal department will file charges and wait for the recommendation of their legal department based on a hearing done on the validity of the forfeiture.

If the forfeiture is upheld, Sylvestre said they will auction the vehicles. Sylvetsre said Aya Trading will be blacklisted.

Eduard Dybuco, BOC legal division chief, said they will send a subpoena to Aya Trading to verify their claim to the shipment.

Dybuco said they will wait 15 days for any companies to claim or to own the shipment.

Sylvestre said Aya Trading also faces charges of misdeclaration of imported goods, which is punishable under the Tariff and Customs Code.

Last week, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7) seized 13 “chop-chop” right-hand drive vehicles in a warehouse in North Reclamation Area (NRA) that was allegedly owned by a Pakistani national who wasn’t around during the raid.