Bureau of Customs. (File photo from Philippine Daily Inquirer)
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has confiscated smuggled goods worth a total of P4.43 billion as of end-May.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Department of Finance (DOF) said this haul of smuggled products came from 478 antismuggling operations of the BOC from January to May, citing a recent report of Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III.
The biggest chunk of these smuggled items were counterfeits amounting to P1.98 billion.
Also seized during the first five months were P864.44 million in smuggled general merchandise, plus P759.89 million in illicit tobacco.
The BOC’s seizures also included P373.16 million in illegal drugs; P221.81 million in agricultural goods; P54.12 million in personal protective equipment, medical supplies and cosmetics; $45.77 million in currency, jewelry, chemicals and fuel; P40.12 million in firearms; P39.13 million in used clothing; P23.54 million in electronics products and parts; P23.47 million in vehicles and accessories; P3.91 million in alcoholic beverages; and P3.73 million in wildlife, Guerrero said.
As such, the BOC filed before the Department of Justice 38 criminal cases against 144 alleged smugglers as of May. It also filed 23 administrative cases before the Professional Regulation Commission against erring customs brokers.
Also, the BOC shuttered 26 customs-bonded warehouses as well as 40 members of customs common-bonded warehouses out of the 391 customs warehouses it inspected so far this year. INQ