BOC confiscates P131.9 million worth of frozen goods in Manila port
Agents of the Bureau of Customs seize boxes of allegedly smuggled frozen goods at the Manila International Container Port. The BOC’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-MICP says the frozen products were “underdeclared and misdeclared.” Photo from BOC
MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has intercepted P131.9 million of allegedly smuggled frozen goods at the Manila International Container Port (MICP).
According to the bureau, its Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) in MICP received information that a shipment of frozen goods from China was “misdeclared and underdeclared.”
The frozen goods were in three containers consigned to Victory JM Enterprise OPC. BOC inspectors checked the containers on Monday and discovered the items.
The inspection was carried out after the CIIS-MICP requested the issuance of Pre-Lodgement Control Orders on the shipments last December 5 for supposed violation of Customs laws. BOC examiners also recommended the issuance of a Warrant of Seizure and Detention (WSD) on the shipment.
Victory JM Enterprise OPC is the same consignee that appeared in an earlier report of the BOC on a separate shipment worth P63 million, which also contained misdeclared frozen goods.
READ: P63M worth of misdeclared frozen goods from China, HK intercepted — BOC
“We will file the appropriate criminal charges against the consignees as soon as the proper paperwork is done. We need to apply the fullest extent of the law against these groups,” BOC Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz said in a statement Wednesday.
“They have been making a mockery of our laws and the agency itself for believing that their modus will work every single time,” he added
Agents of the Bureau of Customs seize boxes of allegedly muggled frozen goods at the Manila International Container Port. The BOC’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-MICP says the frozen products were “underdeclared and misdeclared.” Photo from BOC
Agents of the Bureau of Customs seize boxes of allegedly muggled frozen goods at the Manila International Container Port. The BOC’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-MICP says the frozen products were “underdeclared and misdeclared.” Photo from BOC
The BOC said Victory JM Enterprise OPC would face charges for violating Section 1400 (misdeclaration in goods declaration) in relation to Section 1113 (property subject to seizure and forfeiture) of Republic Act No. 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
CIIS Director Jeoffrey Tacio and BOC Deputy Commissioner Maj. Gen. Juvymax Uy said the latest operation is another result of inter-agency cooperation, as they also received reports from the Department of Agriculture (DA).
“This is hard won. Every successful operation for us is like threading a needle. We have to work together seamlessly for everything to fall into place. Seizing these smuggled items and arresting the responsible individuals are the end goal for every operation,” Tacio said.
“This demonstrates the accuracy of the information we get from our sources and the immediacy by which we act to eventually put these people behind bars. As an agency that work against syndicates, smugglers, and many other criminal groups, we are always up against a big challenge but I’m also confident our team can handle it,” Uy said.
On Monday, lawmakers called on the BOC to go tough on smugglers and send them to jail.
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