Photo credit: BOC

The discovery of P150 million worth of agricultural products in six warehouses across Metro Manila has been hailed as a major success by the Bureau of Customs (BOC). The operations, which were conducted on April 12, 2023, were led by the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Manila International Container Port (CIIS-MICP), Enforcement and Security Service-MICP (ESS-MICP), and ESS-Quick Reaction Team (ESS-QRT) after receiving Letters of Authority (LOAs) from Customs Commissioner Bien Rubio.

The BOC has been actively cracking down on smuggling activities, and the swift issuance of LOAs by Commissioner Rubio allowed the teams to take immediate action based on derogatory information received. The warehouses, located in Caloocan, Manila, and Navotas, were inspected, with the Navotas warehouse found to be empty but being constructed as a cold storage facility with suspicious intent.

The inventory of the goods found in the warehouses will be conducted by customs examiners and witnessed by agents from CIIS and ESS-QRT. The owners of the goods will be required to present importation documents or proof of payment. If proper documents are not presented, seizure and forfeiture proceedings will be conducted against the shipments for violation of Sec. 1400 (misdeclaration in goods declaration) in relation to Sec. 1113 (property subject to seizure and forfeiture) of Republic Act No. 10863, known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).

Commissioner Rubio and Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Group Juvymax Uy plan to personally visit the facilities where the suspected smuggled products were found to further investigate the matter. The BOC has temporarily padlocked and sealed the warehouses, including the empty storage facility.