CdO Customs collector survives ambush
An unidentified gunman failed to kill a Bureau of Customs (BoC) deputy collector outside his house in Cagayan de Oro (CdO) City shortly before midnight Wednesday.
Police identified the victim as 60-year-old Arthur Sevilla of BoC Northern Mindanao.
Initial investigation said the victim had just arrived at his house in Barangay Bogo when the suspect fired just as he was getting out of the vehicle.
Witnesses said the gunman had been loitering in the area prior to Sevilla’s arrival. His driver was alert enough to drag him inside.
Sevilla sustained three gunshot wounds to stomach and legs. The incident was captured on surveillance cameras at the gate.
The attack came after the BoC intercepted P50 million worth of smuggled cigarettes at the Mindanao Container Terminal in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental last week.
The smuggled goods, declared as furniture, arrived from China on
Valentine’s Day.
In Bataan, smuggled goods worth P124 million were seized by the BoC at a private port in Barangay Sta. Elena in Orion town.
Initial reports from Port of Limay district collector William Balayo stated 20,000 sacks of Vietnam rice worth P50 million and P74 million worth of smuggled cigarettes were confiscated.
The attack came after the Bureau of Customs intercepted P50 million worth of smuggled cigarettes at the Mindanao Container Terminal in Tagoloan Misamis Oriental last week.
The agency also apprehended 50 persons unloading the smuggled goods from a cargo vessel.
Bataan Provincial Prosecutor’s Office chief Sonny Ocampo said they will be charged with violation of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, or the importation of goods without paying the proper taxes.
Some of the suspects bared they came from other provinces and were promised jobs in ships. They were told that helping out in the cargo discharge was part of their training.