The Bureau of Customs’ Port of Zamboanga destroyed 19,419 cases and 667 reams of smuggled cigarettes worth P1.43 billion on April 28, 2023 in a warehouse in Barangay Baliwasan, Zamboanga City.
The destruction took place in the presence of representatives from the Commission on Audit, the local government unit, operating units from partner agencies and other stakeholders.
It said the cigarettes were confiscated during various anti-smuggling operations in the Zamboanga Peninsula, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi in the first quarter of this year.
Port of Zamboanga acting district collector Arthur Sevilla Jr. said this was the port’s largest condemnation of seized cigarettes following the major apprehension of a warehouse full of cigarettes in Indanan, Sulu,that was spearheaded by Intelligence Group deputy commissioner Juvymax Uy and the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service director Verne Enciso back in March.
The condemned master cases of cigarettes were seized for violating Section 117 of R.A. 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act of 2016 in relation to Executive Order Number 245 entitled Amended Rules and Regulations Governing the Exportation and Importation of Leaf Tobacco and Tobacco Products.
The Port of Zamboanga has intensified anti-smuggling operations following the directive of Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio to curb smuggling in all forms. The port also maintains close coordination and collaboration with law enforcement agencies.
“The BOC persistently exerts effort to curb smuggling in all forms. Condemnation and destruction of these smuggled items, along with filing of appropriate criminal charges, will continue to deter the citizenry from committing criminal acts of smuggling,” Rubio said in a statement.
