On the directive of the Commissioner of Customs to be vigilant in protecting the country's borders against the entry of smuggled goods, the Bureau of Customs – Port of Subic seized smuggled agricultural products with an estimated value of P66 million on Thursday, November 18.
The Subic port issued Pre-Lodgement Control Orders (PLCO) against the 9×40' container shipment consigned to JKJ International Co. and 13×40’ container shipment consigned to EMV Consumer Goods Trading, after District Collector Maritess T. Martin received derogatory information from the Intelligence Group (IG) that the upcoming shipments from the abovementioned consignees contained agricultural products.
District Collector Martin ordered the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) to immediately conduct profiling of shipments with similar declarations and suspected to contain misdeclared or undeclared agricultural products, which resulted in the request for the issuance of PLCO against the subject shipments.
IG reports also revealed that EMV Consumer Goods changed its name multiple times but was still detected due to the intense profiling of shipments.
The conduct of non-intrusive (X-Ray) and physical examination confirmed that the shipments contained assorted agricultural products such as carrots, sweet oats, broccoli, mushroom, and red onions.
Present during the examination were Bureau of Customs officials led by District Collector Martin, representatives from the CIIS and Enforcement and Security Service.
It was witnessed by the Economic Intelligence Team, Assistant Secretary Federico Laciste of the Department of Agriculture, and representatives from National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, National Bureau of Investigation, Department of Trade Industry, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and K9 Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
Warrants of Seizure and Detention shall be issued against the shipments for violation of DA Department Circular No. 04 series of 2016 and Section 1113 (f) of Republic Act No. 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
District Collector Martin said Subic Port will continue to stay alert against unscrupulous importers, especially with the holiday season fast approaching.
