More than 5,000 kilos or half a million pesos worth of imported onions were destroyed by the Bureau of Customs Cebu last Friday, after these were found to have been misdeclared as apples.

The BOC Assessment Division chief said the onions, reportedly imported from China, arrived at the Cebu International Port in two containers last April. Upon examination, BOC officials found that some of the cargo contained onions instead of apples, as declared by the consignee.

After the BOC revealed the results of its examination, the shipper of the two cargo containers did not return to claim them. It was also discovered that the shipper had no importation permit, which is a violation the Philippine Tariffs and Customs Code.

According to www.sunstar.com.ph, as there was no one claiming the two vans, the cargo was left to rot and had started to emit a foul odour; this prompted officials of the Oriental Port and Allied Services Corporation (OPASCOR) to ask the BOC to remove the rotting cargo from the CIP.