The Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Inspectorate and Enforcement (DA-IE) apprehended 5 Container Vans of frozen meat products amounting to P30 million during the operation in Caloocan, Metro Manila on August 1, 2023.
The effort is in accordance with President Bongbong Marcos’ order to strengthen the Department’s efforts to combat agricultural smuggling.
Following the issuance of the Letter of Authority by the Bureau of Customs (BOC), DA-IE, in partnership with the local barangay officials of Caloocan, conducted joint operations with BOC, National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) .
The team discovered five plugged-in 40-foot reefer container vans with assorted meat products inside the residential building at Blk 1, Lot 3, Tuna St, C-3 Kaunlaran Village, Caloocan, Metro Manila. The assorted meat products comprised of chicken wings, pork hind legs, spare ribs, Indian buffalo meat, and pig heads.
Most of the meat products were expired based on the labels. An initial inventory of at least 70 tons of mishandled meat products were reported.
The BOC will seal the building and the container vans, and will require the owners to provide the necessary importation documents within 15 days. If the documents are not submitted in time, the products will then be confiscated and immediately destroyed.
Assistant Secretary for DA-IE James A. Layug urged Filipinos to report illicit activities and to coordinate with the Department to help curb agri-fishery smuggling towards food security.###
