AGRICULTURE Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. personally inspected P2 million worth of smuggled red onions at the Mindanao Container Terminal this morning, June 24.
The shipment, weighing approximately 25 to 28 tons, was concealed in a 40-foot container van.
According to Bureau of Customs District Port Collector Arthur Sevilla Jr., the shipment was falsely declared as egg noodles but was found to contain red onions smuggled from Xiamen, China.
The container was intercepted two weeks ago.
Sevilla credited strong interagency cooperation for the interception.
Laurel commended the Bureau of Customs, saying the incident underscores the importance of coordination between government agencies.
“For instance, we also intercepted similar shipments in Manila and Subic. So far, we’ve seized seven container vans involved in this same modus operandi, including this one at MCT,” Laurel said.
He warned smugglers to brace for consequences.
“We will file appropriate cases (both Customs and DA) patong-patong na kaso ang haharapin kung sino man nag import nito,” Laurel said.
He added: “Ang ginagawa ng mga smugglers ngayon gumagamit sila nang mga kababayan natin na medyo di magaling mag isip, nauuto nila na gamitin yong kompanya nila para mag import nang katulad nito.”
Tiu pointed out that under the Anti Agricultural Smuggling, all the concerned individuals, the importers, the broker, and even the truck driver will be held accountable.
Regarding the seized onions, Laurel said they have yet to be tested for contamination. He noted that a previous batch confiscated at Paco Market tested positive for Escherichia coli (E. coli).
“If the results come back negative, we will request custody from Customs and distribute the onions to the public,” he said.
