In line with the policy directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to bolster the campaign against agricultural smuggling, the Department of Agriculture (DA) in coordination with partner agencies apprehended 11 container vans of smuggled refined sugar worth P27.3 million.

The shipments consigned to Kanluran Consumer Goods Trading that originated from China were seized after a series of operations led by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for DA Inspectorate and Enforcement (DA-IE) at the Manila International Container Port (MICP).

For the anti-smuggling operations, the DA-IE partnered with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Bureau of Customs (BOC), DA-Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

They inspected three container vans on February 6 and discovered P7.44-million worth of refined white sugar instead of the declared motorcycle spare parts.

Another operation was conducted on February 15, where authorities found refined white sugar worth P9.92 million after inspecting four container vans.

During a follow-up operation on February 16, they inspected four container vans with refined white sugar amounting to P9.92 million.

The DA will be filing criminal cases against the shipments’ consignee for the misdeclaration and misclassification of the shipment in violation of the Republic Act No. 10611 or the Food Safety Act of 2013 and Republic Act No. 10845 or the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016.

According to Assistant Agriculture Secretary James Layug, there are still six containers that will undergo physical inspection.

A total of 17 containers were placed under alert status by the BOC in line with the national government’s anti-smuggling campaign after the request of the DA-IE on January 17. Presidential News Desk