BOC intercepts P.7-M Taiwan-bound baby eels

MANILA, Philippines - Bureau of Customs (BOC) agents foiled an attempt to smuggle 25 kilos of eel fry out of the country through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Sunday.

BOC Commissioner Rufino Biazon said the baby eels, also called elvers, were reportedly placed inside 13 boxes when it was abandoned at the NAIA. The cargo is estimated to be worth P750,000.

Biazon said the exportation of eels is prohibited since it is an endangered species.

“This seizure will definitely hurt the perpetrators of this smuggling attempt. By hitting them where it hurts the most, their pockets, will eventually discourage them from attempting to indulge in smuggling again,” he said.

Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-NAIA head Verne Enciso said that at around 7 a.m. on Sept. 16, an unidentified person reportedly brought the 13 boxes before a trade control examiner at the Pair Cargo warehouse near the NAIA Terminal 1. The boxes were about to be loaded onto a China Airlines flight to Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

“The boxes were reportedly marked as ‘live tropical fish.’ When the customs examiner started opening the boxes, to inspect their contents, the unidentified person reportedly left the shipment, saying he would return to bring the documents,” Enciso said.

Biazon said the elvers, which were still alive, were turned over to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

As of press time, the BOC has not yet pinpointed the shipper or the consignee of the shipment since the unidentified person did not leave behind documents. Eel fry confiscated in previous operations reportedly came from the Bicol region.

Enciso said they are still waiting for the findings from the BFAR, which “would show if this present shipment is similar to the ones cultured in Bicol or if these are other species.”

They are also exploring another possibility: that the Philippines was used as a transshipment port before the seized goods were flown to Taiwan. – Evelyn Macairan, Rudy Santos