Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 13) — Eighteen containers of smuggled red and yellow onions were seized at the Manila International Container Port (MICP), the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said on Monday.
Confiscated on Friday, the shipment from China was falsely declared to contain pizza dough and fish balls, the BOC noted.
Upon inspection by the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS-MICP) Field Office, a massive amount of red and yellow onions were discovered hidden under pizza dough.
This was a violation of Republic Act 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), the bureau said.
Aside from the misdeclared onions, the pizza dough used to conceal the onions also lacked a license and permit from the Philippine Food and Drug Administration, violating Republic Act No. 9711 or the Foods and Drugs Act of 2009.
The BOC said it is still making an inventory of all the goods that were seized, as well as the hoard’s estimated value.
