Tag: Bureau of Customs

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Monday announced the seizure of P29 million worth of suspected marijuana and kush oil concealed in balikbayan boxes at the Manila International Container Port (MICP). The boxes, which arrived from Canada, were declared to contain used household goods and personal effects, and consigned to a residence in General Trias, Cavite. Customs Commissioner Bien Rubio condemned the use of balikbayan boxes for smuggling illegal drugs, emphasizing how it tarnishes a Filipino tradition of sending gifts to loved ones abroad. "Using them for something illegal is an insult to our hardworking OFWs and their families," Rubio remarked.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is preparing to file economic sabotage charges against the importer behind the recently seized P202-million worth of misdeclared frozen mackerel at the Port of Manila. 

Agriculture secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Monday led an inspection of shipments at the Manila South Harbor and laid bare long suspected fish smuggling operations. The inspection revealed that 19 container vans, initially declared as processed plant-based commodities like taro sticks and sweet potato balls, were actually loaded with frozen mackerel and galunggong or scad.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. led an inspection on Monday of one-and-a-half dozen container vans suspected of being loaded with hundreds of tons of frozen fish, but was declared by importers as processed plant-based commodities. A earlier spot check conducted by the Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Plant Industry and the Bureau of Customs on two of the 19 40-foot container vans revealed boxes of frozen mackerels locally known as tamban, and frozen round scad-locally known as galunggong rather than the frozen fried taro sticks, sweet potato balls, and assorted food products from China, as declared in the shipping manifest.