BOC intercepts packages of rare wood worth more than P4 million

The Bureau of Customs on Wednesday said it intercepted a shipment of rare agarwood worth over P4 million worth at a warehouse in Pasay City.

In a statement, the BOC said, packages declared as containing “mahogany chips” originated from San Juan and were bound for Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Further examination revealed that the packages contained 5.7 kilograms of rare agarwood valued at P4,275,000, violating the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), as well as the Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines (PD 705) and the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act (RA 9147).

“The Bureau of Customs continues its pursuit to strengthen the border security measures to and from the country, and we will be relentless against anyone who attempts to violate our customs laws,” said BOC Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio.

The agarwood will be turned over to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). — Jiselle Anne C. Casucian/BM, GMA Integrated News