The Bureau of Customs (BOC)-Port of Subic has seized illegal shipments of agricultural products and cigarettes, valued at around P136.59 million.
In a statement yesterday, the BOC said that five 40-foot containers said to contain 13,250 cartons of frozen fish egg balls, with an estimated value of P21 million arrived on August 15.
However, the shipment was made the subject of a verification request and led to issuance of an alert order.
Upon physical examination, the BOC discovered that the containers actually contained fresh carrots and yellow onions instead of frozen fish egg balls.
The shipment lacked necessary documentation, including the requisite Certificate of Product Registration from the Food and Drug Administration, a Sanitary and Phytosanitary Certificate and proper declaration of the actual contents, breaching multiple regulatory measures.
Warrants of seizure and detention were promptly issued against the subject shipment and the forfeiture proceedings are ongoing.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) said the containers with the smuggled carrots and yellow onions were aboard the vessel SITC Licheng, which docked at the Port of Subic on August 15.
DA said agricultural commodities were imported from China by Betron Consumer Goods Trading.
“Clearly, these are smuggled goods that rob our government of tariff revenue, pose a risk to public health and undermine the livelihood of our vegetable farmers,” said DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., who was present during the inspection of the containers.
Gerald Glenn Panganiban, Bureau of Plant Industry director, said samples from the seized vegetables will be tested to determine their suitability for human consumption.
The tests will check for pesticide residues, heavy metals and microbiological contaminants.
Any imported agricultural products that fail these tests will be condemned and destroyed.
Additionally, on September 6, 1,986 master cases of cigarettes from Taiwan, valued at approximately P115.5 million, were discovered in two 40-foot containers.
The shipment was falsely described as containing “Packages Tissue,” violating several regulations.
Customs and agriculture officials yesterday conducted a re-inspection of the intercepted agricultural products. Jed Macapagal and Angela Celis
