P20M agri products seized in Subic port
MORE than P20 million worth of smuggled agricultural products has been confiscated in the Port of Subic.
Department of Agriculture (DA) Assistant Secretary James Layug said that the confiscated contrabands were frozen carrots and fresh red and white onions with a combined estimated value of P20.193 million.
The operation was conducted by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) together with the DA Inspectorate and Enforcement Office (DA I&E), the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Chamber of Customs Brokers Inc (CCBI), and Port of Subic (POS).
The DA I&E requested the BOC to inspect the three suspicious shipments at the Port of Subic as part of the anti-smuggling campaign of the national government.
During the joint operations, it was discovered that the shipment contained in a 40-footer container of the importer, labeled as “assorted consumables,” contained frozen carrots.
Meanwhile, the two four-footer containers of another importer, labeled as “frozen lobster balls and crabsticks,” actually contained fresh red and white onions.
Following a thorough examination and inventory, the Port of Subic will issue warrants of seizure and detention (WSD) against the shipments.
The DA, on the other hand, is preparing charges against the people responsible for violating the Food Safety Act of 2013 (Republic Act 10611) and the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016 (Republic Act 10845).
