Government agents have raided another storage facility and confiscated smuggled agricultural products worth P9 million.
The series of operations on warehouses being conducted by the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service assigned at the Manila International Container Port is in line with the government’s all-out campaign against the illegal importation of vegetables.
Smuggled red onions, carrots, ginger, and mung beans were seized at the warehouse owned by Morehouse Marketing located in Barangay Ugong, Valenzuela City.
The CIIS men conducted the operation with the help of Philippine Coast Guard personnel on a Letter of Authority signed and issued by Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero.
“This is not a one- or two-time thing. This is a continuous effort from the bureau and the MICP-CIIS. The goal is not to allow even one sack of agri products to enter the country illegally because we cannot saturate the market with these smuggled products. It will have such a huge impact on the economy, on our farmers,” said Customs Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Raniel Ramiro.
The operation was made the same week when the team seized P50 million worth of agricultural products, frozen seafood, cosmetic products, and infringed goods in Meycauayan, Bulacan.
“Similar with that operation, the bureau will examine the seized products for inventory before the issuance of a Warrants of Seizure and Detention (WSD) in accordance with Section 1113 of Customs Modernization and Tariff Act and existing regulations of the Bureau of Plant Industry,” Ramiro said.
Commissioner Guerrero commended the team for implementing the LOA and for actively pursuing intelligence reports.
“These recent successes are only possible because of the hardworking team of the bureau and the MICP-CIIS. These smugglers should already realize by now that we’re never going to stop running after them no matter what. That has always been our goal from the start,” he said.
“But more than anything else, what we ultimately want is to secure the borders so that it won’t be possible for any illegal products to enter our local markets,” Guerrero added.
