The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has filed criminal complaints before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against five additional freight forwarding and trading companies allegedly linked to delayed and stranded balikbayan boxes of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

The BOC accused the firms of violating provisions of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) in connection with the alleged mishandling and abandonment of balikbayan shipments.

The companies named in the second batch of complaints include Ikthus Trading Corp, Marcelo D. Laylo Cargo Forwarders, Me Amoree International Consumer Goods Trading, Mt De Guzman Non-Specialized Wholesale Trading, and Cargoflex Haulers Corporation.

This marks the second batch of cases filed by the BOC as part of its widening crackdown on freight forwarders allegedly responsible for the accumulation of undelivered balikbayan boxes.

Earlier, the agency also filed charges against Makati Express Cargo Inc, which authorities said was among the firms with the highest number of abandoned shipments.

BOC Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno previously said in a May interview on DZRH’s “Special on Saturday” that at least 11 firms that failed to deliver over 42,000 balikbayan boxes despite collecting millions of pesos from OFWs are set to face large-scale estafa charges for allegedly abandoning the shipments.