NBI destroys P200M of smuggled meat deemed unfit for consumption

MANILA — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) destroyed over P200 million worth of smuggled meat at a treatment storage and disposal facility in San Ildefonso, Bulacan, on Saturday.

The frozen products were seized during a raid on a cold storage facility in Marilao, Bulacan, on September 27, after an NBI cyber patrol discovered the company was selling meat online.

This contradicted the company's claim that they operated solely as an ice plant, prompting the NBI to issue a subpoena for the firm to explain why it was importing products "without passing through the authorities, license, inspection,” according to NBI Director Jaime Santiago.

“Pa-filean ng kaso kung hindi maganda ang paliwanag nila,” he added.

(We will file a case against them if their explanation is unsatisfactory) 

Declared unfit for human consumption, the meat was disposed through thermal decomposition to prevent it from reaching the public market.

“Kailangan daw talaga sirain at ‘yun ang order natin from the court. Delikado ipakain. Sabi ko nga i-donate sa zoo pero delikado raw. Itapon sa dagat, makain ng mga isda, delikado rin,” Santiago said.

(We really need to dispose of them because the court also ordered it. It's unsafe to eat. I told them to donate it to the zoo but it's dangerous. If you feed it to the fishes, it's also dangerous.) 

At least seven more trucks, loaded with the confiscated products from Marilao, will be transported for disposal.

The destruction of the smuggled meat is expected to take five days to complete.

The NBI has warned companies involved in illegal importation that they will intensify their efforts, particularly with the expected rise in frozen products during the "ber" months.

Santiago emphasized that under the new Anti-Agri Economic Sabotage Law recently signed by the president, offenders could face life imprisonment and a fine amounting to five times the value of the products involved in the crime.

“‘Wag na nilang ipagpatuloy ‘yung ganitong negosyo at hindi namin titigilan ang aming cyber patrolling, mahuhuli’t mahuhuli namin sila at lalo ngayon meron na tayong bagong batas na life imprisonment plus a fine times 5 of the value,” Santiago said.

(Do not pursue this business because we will not stop our cyber patrolling. We'll nab them either way, especially with the new law that says life imprisonment and a fine 5 times of the value.)