Bureau of Customs (BOC) | FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) seized some P150 million worth of smuggled agricultural products during an inspection of 24 warehouses in the cities of Manila and Malabon.
Agents of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Manila International Container Port (CIIS-MICP) led the implementation of the letters of authority (LOA) issued by Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio after the bureau was informed that agricultural products illegally shipped to the country were inside the storage facilities.
Warehouse representatives acknowledged the LOAs and allowed the team to inspect the facilities, the BOC said.
Most of the warehouses that were inspected and subsequently padlocked were located in Tondo, the BOC said, adding that among the agricultural products seized were onions and garlic.
According to the bureau, inventory and seizure and forfeiture proceedings will be conducted on the shipments for alleged violation of 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 and Republic Act No. 10845, or the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016.
The case records will also be forwarded to the bureau’s action team against smugglers for the filing of appropriate charges and criminal cases against those responsible for the illegal importation of the said agricultural products, the BOC said.
Rubio vowed that the BOC will continue to be relentless in the fight against agricultural smuggling.