A member of the NBI-BOC raiding team holds frozen Peking duck.
ANGELES CITY – Some P25-million worth of food items, including frozen Peking ducks, were seized by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Customs in a raid on a warehouse in Barangay Anunas here Thursday.
The team, supported by the Philippine Coast Guard, raided the warehouse by virtue of Letter of Authority (LOA) No. 06-10-041-2020 and Mission Order (MO) no. 06-10-2020- 086 issued by the BOC commissioner. The LO was served to one Jimgold M. Tan, identified as the representative of the warehouse owner.
An initial inventory of the goods seized recorded 1,149 boxes, each with at least 10 heads of Peking ducks valued at P23 million while the other frozen goods including fish balls, squid balls, vegetables, pork meat, among other food products are estimated to be worth around P2 million.
The contraband is believed to have been smuggled into the country due to the standing ban on importing poultry products from a number of countries except the United States, Canada, and Australia. These imported poultry products should pass stringent requirements and tests by the Customs and other regulatory government agencies, authorities said.
Custom agents said the BOC-Port of Clark will act on the forfeiture case of the banned food products while the bureau’s action team against smugglers, will file criminal charges against those responsible for bringing in the smuggled goods.
*Contributed photos
