Shipment of ‘hair clips’ turns out to contain spiders

The Bureau of Customs intercepted the entry of 178 spiders into the country.

According to a statement from the BOC on Tuesday, an air parcel declared as “hair clips” from Indonesia, and bound for Valenzuela City, was found to contain 157 vials of live spiders and 21 vials of deceased spiders.

The parcel was initially flagged for inspection due to “a suspicious declaration by the consignee” and was found to be in violation of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) in relation to the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act.

The spiders were immediately turned over to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (DENR-PENR).

“The BOC’s commitment of preventing smuggling is similarly essential in safeguarding wildlife and maintaining national biosecurity and ecological balance,” said BOC Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio. — Jiselle Anne C. Casucian/BM, GMA Integrated News