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The Bureau of Customs foiled on March 17 an attempted release of 1.5kg of various flower seeds from Indonesia
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The shipment was declared to contain and concealed in a pair of sport shoes
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It did not have the requisite Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearance from the Bureau of Plant Industry
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) Cebu-Subport of Mactan foiled on March 17 an attempted release of 1.5 kilograms of various flower seeds from Indonesia.
The importation, declared to contain and concealed in a pair of sport shoes, does not have a Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearance from the Bureau of Plant Industry, the BOC said in a press statement.
The package was flagged by the X-Ray Inspection Project (XIP) Team after conducting a non-intrusive inspection which yielded suspicious images of the shipment. Assigned Customs Examiner Pablito B. Geraldez and representatives from XIP Team, Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service, Enforcement and Security Service, DHL Cebu, Bureau of Plant Industry, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency conducted a physical examination and found 41 sachets of flower seeds inside the shoes.
After finding probable cause for deliberate misdeclaration, District Collector Charlito Martin R. Mendoza issued a Warrant of Seizure and Detention for violations of Section 1113 (F), (I), and (L-3, 4, and 5) in relation to Section 1400 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act and the BPI Quarantine Administrative Order No. 2, series of 2008.
Mactan Port Collector Gerardo A. Campo reminded the public that importation of plants and plant products is allowed but only if covered with import clearance from the Bureau of Plant Industry. “Do not resort to misdeclaration and concealment to effect the release of your importation,” he warned.
