The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has asked immigration authorities to monitor the international travel of 13 individuals, including nine of its own officials and employees, as authorities pursue criminal complaints over the alleged smuggling of onions and carrots disguised as chicken products.
The BOC requested an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) after filing criminal complaints with the Department of Justice on Sept. 24 involving six shipments consigned to Berches Trading.
The shipments were allegedly declared as “chicken lollipops” but were found to contain thousands of sacks of fresh onions and boxes of carrots imported without the required regulatory clearances.
The ILBO request covers the importer’s owner and representatives, the licensed customs broker and nine BOC officials and employees allegedly linked to the shipments.
The inclusion of Customs personnel expands the investigation beyond the private parties involved in the shipments and puts the bureau’s own controls and personnel under scrutiny.
“We will use every legal measure available to hold accountable all those responsible,” Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno said. “Anyone who enables, facilitates, or takes part in smuggling will have to answer for it.”
In a letter to Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado, the BOC said the ILBO would allow authorities to monitor the subjects’ international travel and help ensure their availability for the continuing investigation and subsequent proceedings.
The bureau also asked the BI to consider adding other individuals who may be identified as the investigation progresses through a supplemental list.
The move underscores the government’s broader effort to pursue agricultural smuggling across both private and public-sector links. For the BOC, the case also puts internal accountability alongside border enforcement, as officials allegedly connected to the shipments face the same continuing investigation as the private parties.
The BOC said it would pursue administrative and legal action against individuals implicated in agricultural smuggling, whether from the private sector or within the bureau.
