Fruits, food seized at Naia from foreigners

MANILA, Philippines — Customs agents at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Tuesday seized fruits and other food from six Singapore nationals.

The confiscated food items consisted of 96 kilos of grapes and passion fruit, as well as 65.7 kilos of meat-based food such as siomai, siopao and rice toppings, all placed in styrofoam boxes.

Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) veterinary inspector Nilo Cristal said that the Singaporeans, whose names were withheld pending an investigation, arrived on a private plane on Monday night and were planning to play at a casino in Pasay City for a few days.

However, they could not show import permits for the food so these were seized by customs agents the next day. The food was turned over to the BAI and Bureau of Plant Industry offices at the airport. —Jerome Aning