Bureau of Customs seizes pests misdeclared as candies

Customs officials at Ninoy Aquino International Airport have intercepted misdeclared pests from Thailand. According to the Bureau of Customs, through rigorous screening of postal items at the Sub-Port of the Central Mail Exchange Center (CMEC), including X-ray scanning and thorough physical examination, a parcel was found to contain some 50 concealed pieces of isopods, invertebrates belonging to the greater crustaceans group of animals. The parcel had been misdeclared as candies. The exotic pests were confiscated for lack of import clearance from the Bureau of Plant Industry, violating the Plant Quarantine Law of 1978 (Presidential Decree No. 1433) and the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, the customs bureau said. “The Bureau of Customs pledges to prevent smuggling and protect the country’s borders against threats, including exotic pests, through strict border controls and reforms,” Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said in a statement.

—TINA G. SANTOS