The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has brought formal charges against two consignees for alleged unlawful importations, one of Thai white rice valued at about P68 million, and the other of Peking duck valued at P4 million.
Criminal charges were filed April 14 with the Department of Justice against Magdalena Salgado, Calumpit Multi-Purpose Cooperative chairperson, and several members of the cooperative’s board of directors, including the treasurer and board secretary. They were charged for unlawful importation.
The case stemmed from the arrival at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) between November 24 and December 12, 2015 of a total of 118 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of rice shipments from Thailand, consigned to Calumpit Multi-Purpose Cooperative. When verified by BOC-MICP Chief of Auction and Cargo Division Gerardo Macatangay with the National Food Authority (NFA), the authority confirmed the consignee did not have the required import permits for these shipments.
BOC-MICP officer-in-charge Meliton Pascual issued warrants of seizure and detention against the consignee.
Criminal charges were also filed against Get Enterprises proprietor Eugene Mercado and several unnamed individuals for supposedly illegally bringing in Peking duck.
On January 17, 2016, one TEU from Hong Kong, reported to contain frozen meat and consigned to Get Enterprises, arrived at the Port of Batangas (POB). However, BOC-POB Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service officer-in-charge Manolo J. Arevalo verified with the National Meat Inspection Service and learned the consignee was not an accredited importer of frozen meat.
An alert order was issued against the cargo and a 100% physical examination showed the shipment, contrary to the consignee’s declaration, contained about 500 cartons or 3,000 pieces of Peking duck.
Image courtesy of Naypong at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
