BOC busts smuggled ivermectin
MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) reported on Thursday that it seized a shipment containing undeclared regulated medicines, including some 20,000 ivermectin capsules, from New Delhi, India, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The bureau said in a statement that importer Finstad Inc. declared the shipment, valued at P1.13 million, as “food supplements, multivitamins, and multimineral capsules.”
The ivermectin capsules were concealed beneath the declared items, it added.
The BOC stressed that while it was committed to expediting the processing and release of COVID-19 vaccines, drugs, and other medical supplies, it would remain vigilant in curbing all attempts to smuggle unregistered, undeclared or misdeclared goods without the necessary permits.
—TINA G. SANTOS
