Bureau of Customs (BOC) agents posted at the Manila North Harbor have seized more than P23 million worth of refined sugar reportedly smuggled from Hong Kong.
The saccharine shipment was discovered at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) amid the agency’s intensified crackdown against smuggled agricultural products.
The cargo was erroneously declared to contain insulators, surge arrester, slipper outsoles and Styrene Butadiene rubber consigned to Burias Jang Consumer Goods Trading.
However, upon examination, BOC examiners found the shipment to contain refined sugar valued at P23.8 million.
Customs Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz lauded his men’s achievement in collaboration with other government agencies.
“Our targeted examinations and close work with the DA (Department of Agriculture) and their attached agencies yielded significant quantities of smuggled agricultural products these recent months and helped protect Philippines agriculture from the economic impact that smuggling carries,” the commissioner said.
The operation began last Dec. 2 after the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-MICP (CIIS-MICP) requested for the issuance of an alert order on the questioned shipment.
“These past months, the agency has faced a significant amount of attempts to traffic prohibited items, including agricultural products, into the country despite the work being done by our dedicated team.
Smuggling these items is a serious offense but these recent operations by the bureau demonstrate the lengths smugglers will go for their own financial gain,” Deputy Commissioner Juvymax Uy said.
Officials from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency led by director general Moro Virgilio Lazo were also at the inspection site after the information reached both agencies that there were possible illegal drugs in the shipment.