Customs seizes 180 kilos of Chinese medicines with no FDA clearance worth P700k

Operatives from the Bureau of Customs-Port of NAIA confiscated 180 kilos of Chinese medicines with no clearance from the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday, the BOC said on Saturday.

The medicines which were declared as "vitamin pills" came from Xiamen, Fujian, China.

The estimated total value of the shipment was placed at P700,000.

A male individual from Muntinlupa City was designated as consignee.

The BOC said the medicines "were illegally imported without the necessary License to Operate and Certificate of Product Registration from the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA)."

The FDA previously warned the public against buying and using unregistered Chinese medicines.

BOC-NAIA District Collector Carmelita Talusan said they will continue to guard borders and be on the lookout for misdeclared goods and prevent unscrupulous people from using the COVID-19 pandemic to smuggle illegal goods into the Philippines. —KG, GMA News