P30 million smuggled cigarettes destroyed in Zamboanga

ZAMBOANGA CITY , Philippines  —  Marine soldiers as well as personnel of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and Philippine Coast Guard destroyed 575 boxes of smuggled cigarettes valued at around P30 million in this city yesterday. 

Soldiers of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 2 seized the cigarettes from a warehouse in Barangay Arena Blanco on Saturday, BOC district collector Segundo Sigmunfreud Barte said.

Three persons were arrested.

Barte said Customs Commissioner Leonardo Rey Guerrero ordered the destruction of the confiscated cigarettes after no one claimed ownership of the items.  

“We did manual destruction... because it will be costly to use heavy... machines,” Barte said.