50,000 kilos of smuggled garlic seized in Batangas port
CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna, Philippines — Around 50,000 to 60,000 kilos of imported garlic were seized by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) at the Batangas port in Batangas City on Wednesday.
An alert had been raised on the smuggled products, contained in two 40-foot container vans, by the BOC intelligence group since last week after the government received “derogatory information,” customs information officer Charo Logarta said.
She said the shipment from Taiwan, transported via Hong Kong, arrived in Batangas Wednesday morning.
Logarta said the shipment appeared “spurious,” with records showing the consignee, Good Earth Merchandising, without any background information except for an address in Cagayan de Oro City.
The shipment was also labeled as cacao beans.
“This will be subjected to examination and valuation,” Logarta said on the phone.
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