MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) confiscated P2.2 billion worth of smuggled cigarettes and other related paraphernalia in various operations from May 28 to July 15, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).
In a statement, the DOF said Customs authorities remained relentless in their campaign against illicit tobacco trade even amid the coronavirus pandemic, with P2.2 billion in smuggled tobacco products and cigarette-making materials and machines confiscated in different ports.
In a report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero said this included the estimated P53 million worth of smuggled cigarettes from China through a suspected new scheme.
Guerrero said the shipment, which was seized last July 12 in the port of Davao, originated from Ningbo, China and was transported by SITC Container Lines Philippines Inc. to the country.
He said the shipment first entered the country through the sub port of the Mindanao Container Terminal in Misamis Oriental, where it was first declared as tissue paper by its consignee, Golden Aark Enterprise.
But when the cargo reached its final destination, which was the port of Davao, the containers were not included in its inward foreign manifest despite other Customs documents proving the existence of the shipment, Guerrero said.
He said this discrepancy, along with the information received by the BOC’s Intelligence Group, led to the seizure of the shipment.