The Bureau of Customs (BoC) on Tuesday seized P23.27 million worth of misdeclared frozen agricultural products and foodstuffs from China concealed inside five container vans at the Port of Manila.

The shipments were flagged through intelligence, risk assessment, and profiling, prompting authorities to issue three pre-lodgment control orders and two alert orders.

Although initially declared as containing various processed food items — including Fu Hua Lao Jiang Brand Classic Squid Ball, Fish Tofu, Fish Roe Balls and Qianye Tofu — a 100 percent physical examination revealed misdeclared and illegally imported frozen meats.

During the inspection, authorities uncovered concealed shipments of peeled chicken breast, skinless chicken breast, frozen pigeon, Peking duck, frozen duck meat, and other frozen food items.

The seized goods carry an estimated value of P17,030,697.28, with corresponding duties and taxes amounting to P6,238,192.46, for a total value of P23,268,889.74.

Customs commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno stressed the agency’s commitment to enforcing customs laws and coordinating with the Department of Agriculture to block illegally imported commodities that jeopardize biosecurity, food safety and local farmers’ livelihoods.

Port of Manila district collector Rizalino Jose Torralba issued warrants of seizure and detention against the five shipments for violating Republic Act 10863, or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, in relation to Republic Act 10611, the Food Safety Act of 2013.

The agency is also investigating the shipments for potential violations of Republic Act 12022, known as the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, because the total value of the confiscated goods surpasses the P10 million threshold required to classify large-scale agricultural smuggling