THE BUREAU of Customs (BoC) on Wednesday seized 3,200 cartons of smuggled oranges valued at P8.42 million at the Manila port, it said on Thursday.
The shipments were confiscated after the Bureau of Plant and Industry (BPI), an agency attached to the Department of Agriculture (DA), reported that these did not have the required import clearance, the BoC said in a statement.
“The unlawful importation of shipment from Thailand, consisting of 3,200 cartons of fresh oranges valued at P8.422 million, was prevented in Manila International Container Port after finding that the same is not covered by the required import sanitary clearance from the BPI,” it said.
The smuggled fruits were deemed unsafe for human consumption and a threat to local ecology, the bureau said.
Drug enforcement personnel also reported that no dangerous drugs were found in the shipment.
The Customs bureau seized P3.46 billion worth of smuggled agricultural goods last year. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz
