Customs seizes onions misdeclared as microphones

Acting on a tip from a farmers' group, the Bureau of Customs seized eight container vans of onions misdeclared as microphones, the bureau said in a statement Wednesday. The shipment was valued at P9 million. Alyansa Agrikultura chairman Ernesto Ordoñez said the cargo’s consignees were listed as Harbor Speed International Trading Corp. and Blue Harbor Commercial Inc. On Sept. 3, Alyansa Agrikultura verified a tip from a private-sector source that the container vans were actually filled with smuggled onions. The group then passed the information to the bureau. “The successful operation followed a botched raid due to the incompetence of subordinate officials in another raid against smuggled onions the previous month. This time, the public-private partnership worked well because top officials of the Customs Bureau got personally involved," Ordoñez said. Ordoñez said they now want to make that the smuggled onions will be destroyed and not disappear again as what happened in the past. “This is not over. They can still steal these [onions]. And we want the parties charged," he said. —JE/VS, GMANews.TV