Metro Manila: The government authorities have seized 15 shipping containers that were found carrying smuggled refined sugar on the pretext of silica sand, said the Bureau of Customs, reports CNNphilippines.
The action was taken at the Manila International Container Port (MICP).
The MICP has not yet shared the details about the amount of sugar seized and its market value but the sugar was consigned to Smile Agri Ventures Inc, said BOC.
The suspects would be booked under criminal cases for violation of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMA), said authorities.
The incident happened less than a week after the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) approved the importation of 150,000 metric tons of sugar due to a shortage of the commodity.
The refined sugar was sold between P85 to P110 per kg in Metro Manila while the washed sugar was sold between P82 to P90 and brown sugar from P78 to P90, said Da.
BOC Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz said that the excessive importation of sugar has worsened smuggling.
