BOC seizes P23M worth of misdeclared frozen agri, food items

INQUIRER FILES MANILA, Philippines — Over P23 million worth of misdeclared frozen agricultural and food products, allegedly from China, has been seized, according to the Bureau of Customs (BOC). The BOC said Tuesday that the seized products were in five containers containing illegally imported frozen agricultural food items, including peeled chicken breast, skinless chicken breast, frozen pigeon, peking duck, frozen duck meat, among others. The food items were initially declared as Fu Hua Lao Jiang Brand Classic Squid Ball, Fish Tofu, Fish Roe Balls, and Qianye Tofu. Article continues after this advertisement According to the BOC, the shipments have an estimated value of more than P17 million, with corresponding duties and taxes amounting to P6,238,192.46. READ: BOC seizes P85-M frozen agri and beverage products in Parañaque “The shipments were flagged through Customs intelligence, risk assessment, and profiling, resulting in the issuance of three (3) Pre-Lodgment Control Orders (PLCOs) and two (2) Alert Orders,” the BOC reported. It added that the Port of Manila issued warrants of seizure and detention against the five shipments for violating Republic Act No. 10863, or otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, related to the Republic Act No. 10611 or the Food Safety Act of 2013. Moreover, the seized shipments are also subject to further investigations for “possible violations of Republic Act No. 12022, otherwise known as the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act” after exceeding the P10 million threshold for large-scale agricultural smuggling. Article continues after this advertisement Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno said the operations were made possible through the continuous cooperation of the Port of Manila and the Department of Agriculture. “We extend our gratitude to Secretary Francisco Laurel and the entire Department of Agriculture for their continued collaboration with the Bureau of Customs in the fight against agricultural smuggling. Operations like this demonstrate that our law enforcement efforts become more effective when our agencies work together,” Nepomuceno stated. /mr Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful.