In line with President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s order to boost the campaign against agricultural smuggling, the Department of Agriculture (DA) and its partner agencies apprehended 11 container vans of smuggled refined sugar worth P27.3 million.

The shipments consigned to Kanluran Consumer Goods Trading originating from China were seized after a series of operations led by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for DA Inspectorate and Enforcement (DA-IE) at the Manila International Container Port (MICP).

The DA-IE partnered with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the DA-Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

They inspected three container vans on Feb. 6 and discovered P7.44-million worth of refined white sugar instead of the declared motorcycle spare parts. Another inspection on Feb. 15 led authorities to find refined white sugar worth P9.92 million inside four container vans.

During a follow-up operation on Feb. 16, they inspected four container vans with refined white sugar amounting to P9.92 million.

The DA will file criminal cases against the shipments' consignee for the misdeclaration and misclassification of the shipment in violation of the Food Safety Act of 2013 and the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016.

According to DA Assistant Secretary James Layug, six containers will still undergo physical inspection.

A total of 17 containers were placed under alert status by the BOC in line with the national government's anti-smuggling campaign after the request of the DA-IE on Jan. 17, 2023.