The Bureau of Customs has intercepted 28 kilos of the world’s most expensive wood, the Agarwood worth P2.4 million in a Fedex warehouse in Pasay City.
Agarwood is classified as an Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, according to NAIA District Collector Carmelita Tuazon.
Meanwhile, the agency has also seized a truckload of smuggled cigarettes worth P3.5 million about to be delivered in Pawak village in Saguiaran, Lanao del Sur.
In a statement, the bureau said combined elements of Customs and PNP Lanao del Sur were conducting a routine quarantine control checkpoint when the truck driver failed to present their quarantine pass and medical certificates. Inspection revealed the cigarettes.
According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Agarwood is a resin valued for its distinctive fragrance. It is formed when the host tree becomes infected with a mold called Phialophoraparasitica.
The mold infection makes the tree produce a dark aromatic resin called aloes or aga in its heartwood. The fragrant resin is used to make incense, perfume and medicinal products particularly in the Middle East and Asia.
The DENR says the selling of agarwood or lapnisan is illegal in the Philippines. It is found only in the heart of the jungles in Mindanao and the Visayas. Foreigners are said to hike in remote villages in the country seeking to find the rare tree.
According to reports, the treasure is one of the rarest and expensive trees in the world. A kilo of agarwood fetches as much as P750,000.
Documents showed that the packages were declared as “face masks and clothes”, “shoes and hand bags” and “leather jackets, face masks, man pants”. All three packages were shipped by a resident from Davao to the United Arab Emirates.