Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said “heads will roll” after reports that some of the agency’s personnel were involved in the foiled attempt to resell the P270 million worth of seized smuggled cigarettes from Capas, Tarlac.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said it is conducting an investigation on the possible involvement of certain personnel from the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in the recent attempt to resell smuggled cigarettes that had previously been confiscated by the bureau.
“I already instructed the Intelligence Group’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service to look into this matter and report to me immediately. The NBI has our full cooperation and I promise that anyone found involved in this will be held accountable. Heads will roll,” Rubio said.
“We are one with the NBI and thank them in the fight against cigarette smuggling. We have made significant progress in this regard, seizing P5.1 billion worth of e-cigarettes/vapes and P4.1 billion worth of tobacco and cigarettes, for a total of almost P9.3 billion last year,” he added.
The shipments arrived at the Port of Subic in four separate batches from July 2021 to June 2022. They were abandoned and promptly seized. It was directed for disposal in 2023.
A buy-bust operations conducted by the NBI took place “during a shift change” for the BOC personnel at the Port of Subic Customs overseeing the condemnation process, Rubio said.
The four containers, believed to be smuggled were consigned to Hongcim International Corp. and the other was consigned to Proline Logistics Philippines Inc.
The BOC has confirmed that Hazchem North is the waste disposal company engaged to handle the disposal of the cigarettes.
This is the same company whose owner, according to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), allegedly instructed his environmental consultant to locate a buyer for the merchandise.
“Our collaboration with the NBI has consistently been a key factor in the success of our operations. If the investigation implicates any member of our team, we will cooperate with the NBI to uncover the truth and ensure accountability,” Rubio said.