Authorities in Oriental Mindoro province intercepted 84 boxes of illegally transported frozen meat worth more than P246,000 hidden among fruit cargo in a 10-wheeler truck, officials said Thursday.

The contraband was seized in Barangay Salong after veterinary quarantine officers spotted workers unloading meat boxes from a vehicle that lacked proper documentation and refrigeration, according to Dr. Anna Rochelle Boongaling, a senior veterinarian with the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO).

The driver told PVO team the shipment originated in Lipa, Batangas and was destined for a meat vendor in Calapan City.

“The boxes were concealed between fruits and other cargo. These products should have been transported in a refrigerated van with proper temperature control,” PVO said in a statement.

The seizure violated Provincial Ordinance No. 118, enacted in 2020 to regulate animal product transport in Oriental Mindoro, as well as national agriculture department guidelines on livestock and meat product shipments.

Officials from the provincial veterinary office worked with the Veterinary Quarantine Station-MIMAROPA and Calapan city government to coordinate the operation.

PVO plans to dispose of the confiscated meat through burial to prevent contamination, particularly as ice used to preserve the products had already melted, according to provincial veterinary officials.

PVO urged businesses and the public to comply with existing regulations on importing, transporting and selling meat products to avoid penalties and prevent the spread of diseases to livestock and humans.

Photos: courtesy of PIO Oriental Mindoro