Smuggled garlic seized

MANILA, Philippines—Amid the spike in garlic prices, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Friday seized around 100 metric tons of garlic smuggled from Hong Kong with an estimated value of P30 million at the Port of Batangas.

The garlic shipment, packed in 10-kilogram bags, arrived in two separate shipments of four 40-footer containers on June 1 and June 12 from Hong Kong on board vessels MV MCC Sandiwa and MV Rubina Schulte, respectively. The garlic was reportedly sourced from Taiwan.

The BOC said the shipments were declared as “cocoa beans to be used as raw material for chocolate.”

Misdeclared

As the garlic was misdeclared, the shipments had no phytosanitary clearance as mandated by the Department of Agriculture (DA) for imported agricultural products.

The BOC’s Intelligence Group said it had been tipped off that the container vans were holding smuggled goods. On spot-checking, it was discovered that the contents of the vans were garlic instead of chocolate raw materials as declared in the Bill of Lading.

The bureau issued a warrant of seizure and detention on the shipments for violation of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines.

According to the BOC, the shipments were consigned to a certain Good Earth Merchandising, based in Barangay Carmen, Cagayan de Oro City; and was brokered by one Antonio Enriquez, whose stated address was  Tuktukan, Guiguinto, Bulacan.

However, the chair of Barangay Tuktukan has certified that the consignee was nonexistent.

The four seized containers will undergo forfeiture proceedings in favor of the government, the BOC said.

Soaring prices

The seizure of the smuggled garlic came as retail prices for the commodity soared to as high as P300 to P400 a kilo, from the usual P60 to P90 per kilo.

Based on monitoring of the DA, garlic prices increased by 213 percent in the first quarter of 2014 alone.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma earlier said that the spike in garlic prices “was probably affected by a combination of smuggling” and congestion at the ports of Manila, whose local government has implemented a truck ban.

Imported goods, including garlic, entering through the Port of Manila and the Manila International Container Port are sitting at the piers for lack of trucks to take them out.

Malacañang also warned those hoarding garlic that they would be arrested and charged in court unless they released their supplies to the market.

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