By Manny Piñol
Customs Chief Nicanor Faeldon, who was supposed to work with me in the Dept. of Agriculture had he not been named Customs Commissioner, confirmed to me a few minutes ago that the three vessels involved in the attempt to smuggle white sugar are now in the custody of his agency.
“I assure you Sir that not a grain of sugar will be lost and we will not yield to the pressures by interested groups who are asking for the release of the vessels,” Faeldon told me by phone.
He said he will be flying down to Zamboanga City within the next two days to personally inspect the vessels.
Initial inventory on one of the vessels, M/B Sitti Aini, showed that it was loaded with 584 bags of refined sugar, Faeldon said.
The two other vessels are now being inspected.
Meanwhile, my sources in Zamboanga City identified as certain Police Supt. Ariel Huesca and a SPO4 Estino, reportedly members of the intelligence group of the PNP in Zamboanga City as the point men of two police generals who are involved in the smuggling of agricultural commodities through the Zamboanga City small ports.
They also implicated the Zamboanga City Customs Collector Arabani in the smuggling activities.
These reports will be validated as soon as Commissioner Faeldon visits the area and the men of Chief PNP Ronald Bato dela Rosa submit their reports on this smuggling attempt.
People will now realise that President Rody Duterte is serious in his vow to stop the smuggling of rice and other agricultural commodities into the country.
(File photos Faeldon and Bato dela Rosa downloaded from Google.)
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