Smuggling of vegetables in Subic Bay Freeport thwarted anew

Photos by Julie Sionzon

By Julie Sionzon

Subic Bay Freeport Zone- Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) scored anew in its anti-smuggling campaign after personnel of the Seaport Department apprehended nine 40-foot container trucks with misdeclared goods.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Jonathan Tan, together with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) representatives, inspected the seized contrabands from China, on Wednesday afternoon.

Agricultural produce like frozen broccoli, potatoes and carrots were inside nine containers trucks that were initially declared as frozen lobster balls.

The seized cargo, declared as 40,000 cartons of lobster balls, arrived on November 3 and was cosigned to Rianne Food Products, the SBMA chairman said.

In an interview, Tan said the seized products were declared as “condemned” by BOC officials and will be disposed of properly.

“We have to follow the law, but I will ask the President, referring to Ferdinand Marcos Jr, to donate those to different agencies for disposal,” Tan said.

When asked about his series of warnings to those who continue to be engaged in smuggling inside Subic, Tan said that “we cannot eradicate smuggling but we will still enforce the law”.

The total amount of the seized contrabands is still unknown as of this writing.