The Bureau of Customs (BOC) on May 7 has seized an estimated four kilos of misdeclared Chinese medicines from Taiwan without the necessary Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) clearance.
The shipment was sent through air cargo in one of the warehouses in Pasay City and was misdeclared as US$15 worth of plastic boxes and consigned to someone with an address in Tondo, Manila.
BOC, in a statement, said this “is another scheme of evading the required License to Operate and Certificate of Product Registration from FDA on the importation of medicines.”
Last April 27, BOC also apprehended an estimated 2.2 kilogram of Chinese medicines without FDA clearance.
The apprehension was made through the efforts of examiners of BOC Ninoy Aquino International Airport, X-ray Inspection Project, Enforcement and Security Service, Customs Intelligence & Investigation Service, and Customs Anti-Illegal Drug Task Force who are continuously profiling shipments to unveil illegal modus in circumventing customs and related laws.
Customs commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero had directed BOC ports to be alert of the entry of illegal goods and expedite processing of essential goods, especially COVID-19 related shipments as mandated by Republic Act No. 11469 otherwise known as the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.
Photo courtesy of BOC NAIA
