The Bureau of Customs has destroyed some P1.7 million worth of abandoned and expired goods smuggled into the country through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
The contrabands, according to NAIA district collector Carmelita Talusan, were burnt in an incinerator operated by the Integrated Waste Management Inc. (IWMI) in Trece Martires City in Cavite.
She said the condemned items included medicines, shoes, food stuffs, mobile devices and personal paraphernalia.
“This procedure is a border protection initiative of the Bureau of Customs to protect the public from unsafe and harmful consumer products and to decongest warehouses with overstaying shipments,” Talusan said.
She added that aside from preventing the entry of prohibited goods, the destruction of unsafe and expired goods was also vital to decongest Customs warehouses to provide ample space for arriving shipments.
In June last year, the bureau also destroyed in the Cavite I incinerator smuggled counterfeit cigarettes and other products.
Customs officials cited the importance of preventing the entry of prohibited goods especially medicines and food products that were illegally imported.