NBI RAIDS WAREHOUSE ALLEGEDLY HOARDING, REPACKING OLD IMPORTED RICE IN BULACAN

AGENTS of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Monday night raided a warehouse in Bocaue, Bulacan allegedly hoarding and reselling old, imported rice.

The imported rice were found to be stored for at least two years and were repacked as premium-grade grain.

Aside from imported rice, also found in the warehouse were the equipment used to mix varieties and artificial fragrance to make the rice appear as high-quality rice.

Based in investigation, the old rice were mixed and repacked and being sold as new.

“Pinaghalu-halo nila ‘yung variety ng bigas tapos lalagyan ng konting pabango, pandan, ipa-pass on na nila as mamahaling bigas. Class A na bigas. Niloloko ang ating mamamayan,” NBI Director Jaime Santiago said.

“Puro alikabok na, puro ano na ‘yung sako. Clear manifestation of hoarding,” he further said.

“Napakadelikado niyan. Hindi natin alam kung safe pa kainin ng tao, o para sa baboy nalang,” Santiago added.

Four persons were arrested during the raid, including the warehouse manager, two casers and an inventory officer.

The owner of the warehouse was not around during the raid.

The NBI chief said the discovered rice were imported from Vietnam, Pakistan and India.

Charges, including economic sabotage, are set to be filed against the arrested suspects and the warehouse owner, according to Santiago.

“We have already conducted an inspection and this all leads to economic sabotage,” the NBI director sa told a radio interview.

“We are just waiting for the Department of Agriculture to determine the price and volume of the rice found in the warehouse,” he added.

He said the operation was launched after months of surveillance.