Spot inspections of cargoes at the Manila International Container Ports (MICP) will be conducted regularly as part of the intensified campaign against smuggling, Bureau of Customs (BOC) chief Isidro Lape?a said on Friday.

"We will do this as often as we can, if necessary, until such time all importers and players can do the business legitimately," he said during his surprise random checking at the Container Freight Station 3 of MICP.

Lape?a also said he does not expect port congestion despite his directive to the 24 Office of the Commissioner (OCOM) inspectors to conduct physical examination of 100 randomly selected containers stacked at the container yard.

"This random inspection will let us know if the shipment contains misdeclared or undervalued shipment," he said as he warned that erring importers will suffer the consequences of duping the government.

"If the inspectors found anomaly on the cargoes, the District Collector will issue Warrant of Seizure and Detention (WSD) immediately on the shipment while the Legal Division will file a case on the erring importer," he said.

However, the official said shipments with no discrepancy will be cleared immediately to avoid unnecessary delays on the part of honest importers.

In 2017, an average of 760,000 containers arrived at MICP and an average daily arrival of 1,500 containers.

"With such huge number of imports arriving each day, we have to make sure that our borders are free from smuggled goods," Lape?a added.

The decision of the Customs chief to shut down the Green Lane operations is in force, subjecting the shipments to either documentary or physical inspection.

"I still have no plans to lift the Green Lane because that is where the 604 kilos of shabu passed through," he said, referring to the P6.4-billion worth of illegal drugs that came from China in May last year and became subject of congressional investigations. DMS