Insect-infested wood products seized

The Division of Quarantine has stumbled into a 20-foot cargo containing potentially hazardous merchandise shipped from Indonesia that are feared to affect the island’s ecological balance.

Quarantine officials held the entry of several stone statues, bamboo ornaments, wooden furniture, metals, and handicrafts aboard a large container after discovering the commodities were contaminated with dirt, bugs, and different types of insects.

Acting Department of Agriculture Director Stan Villagomez yesterday laid the blame on inadequate quarantine procedures performed by the country of origin as it apparently failed to thoroughly check if the contents of the container were free from undesirable elements.

“Our experiences with Indonesian cargo tell us that quarantine inspection done there is very lax,” said Mr. Villagomez.

The cargo was yesterday resealed and fumigated to eliminate and prevent the spread of the exotic insects in the Northern Marianas.

If still found with pests and bugs, authorities may be compelled to flush the whole cargo into the ocean as salt water is known to efficiently kill soil-borne organisms.

“Indonesian soil is totally different from ours. For sure, there will be some organisms there that do not exist here. And organisms in the soil can travel long distance. If the condition here becomes ideal for them to multiply. . .we want to avoid that,” said the acting director.

The cargo was consigned to businessman Gregg Kresge, owner of Culture Concepts.
Quarantine has advised Mr. Kresge to either have the cargo flushed into the ocean or have it shipped back to Indonesia. “Either way, he will pay for the costs,” said Mr. Villagomez.

Mr. Kresge said he plans to seek damages for his losses from Indonesia’s Quarantine division for overlooking the presence of the organisms inside the cargo.

From this recent incident, Mr. Villagomez has again issued a warning to all importers to be especially watchful of brining in cargoes from high-risk countries like Indonesia.

“Importers should coordinate the packing activity at the port of origin so that no unnecessary procedure should have to be undertaken over here so far as detaining the commodity for a long period of time. . .because this is again an additional cost for the person that brings it in,” the DOA official warned. (MM)