MANILA – The Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Thursday reported the confiscation of smuggled carrots declared as chocolates at the Manila North Harbor Port.
Lawyer Jesus Balmores, officer-in-charge of the North Harbor Port, recommended the examination of the shipment upon receipt of information regarding the arrival of the contraband from the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).
The smuggled carrots were discovered in an operation on Aug. 16 by several government agencies at the port, which is under the Manila International Container Port (MICP).
The MICP said an inventory by the BPI is ongoing to determine the total value of the shipment which came from China. The consignee of the shipment was not identified.
It will undergo seizure and disposal proceedings for violation of Sections 1113 (Property Subject to Seizure and Forfeiture), 117 (Regulated Importation and Exportation), and 1401 (Unlawful Importation and Exportation) of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), BPI-National Plant Quarantine Service’s Rules and Regulations for the Importation of Plant products, and Republic Act No. 10845 or the “Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016”.
District Collector Romeo Allan Rosales said the MICP would further enhance measures to improve its border protection programs against the entry of smuggled agricultural products.
Aside from the BOC, the operation was conducted in coordination with the BPI-Plant Quarantine Service, and the Department of Trade and Industry Sub-Task Group on Economic Intelligence. (PNA)