Charges filed vs onion smugglers caught in Subic, Davao ports
THE BUREAU of Customs (BoC) filed three criminal cases against importers and customs brokers involved in smuggling P29.236 million worth of onions last month, it said in a press release over the weekend.
The BoC filed the first complaint against Thousand Sunny Enterprise and its customs broker for misdeclaring shipments of P7.3 million of fresh red onions on July 1 and July 6 at the Port of Subic.
Customs also filed a case against Duar Te Mira Non-Specialized Wholesale Trading for illegal importation and failure to fully declare P20.22 million worth of onions on July 9 and 13 at the Subic port as well.
The bureau also filed a complaint against CBJ Consumer Goods Trading and the broker who handled the transaction where 2,500 bags of onions worth P1.72 million were misdeclared on July 29 at the Port of Davao.
BoC said the importers and brokers violated provisions under the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, the Republic Act no. 10845 or the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016, as well as certain guidelines for importation of agricultural commodities issued by the Department of Agriculture.
“BoC remains committed in taking action against violators of customs laws, rules and regulations in order to protect the government’s revenue and uphold public interest,” the statement read.
Customs confiscated P10.169 billion worth of smuggled goods from its 557 operations in the first half. — Beatrice M. Laforga
