THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) will investigate several agency officials allegedly involved in the smuggling of cigarettes worth about P1.2 billion that were seized in Batangas City on New Year’s Eve.
The investigation follows the discovery of 14 trailer trucks loaded with smuggled cigarettes at a container yard in Sitio 5, Barangay Balete, Batangas City.
The operation was led by the Philippine National Police–Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG).
Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno ordered a broader probe into the reported increase in cigarette smuggling and other illegal activities.
This earlier resulted in the relief of Paul Oliver Pacunayen, Intelligence Officer III and former chief of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) Field Station at the Port of Manila.
A Customs employee assigned to the Port of Batangas has been identified as a primary suspect, according to a report. Authorities said the employee could help identify higher-ranking officials who may have authorized the illegal shipment, which did not appear in the BOC’s official systems.
The PNP-HPG earlier disclosed that the husband of this particular Customs employee was the lessee of the container yard where the cigarettes were found. Reports said the husband operates a trucking company that regularly transacts with the BOC, raising concerns that access to Customs operations may have been used to facilitate the smuggling.
The BOC said the scale and value of the shipment suggested possible involvement of senior officials, noting that the cargo was not reflected in official Customs records.
Assistant Commissioner Philip Vincent Maronilla said cigarette smuggling is usually carried out through misdeclaration which leaves a paper trail, or through outright smuggling via private ports and sea routes that bypass standard Customs procedures.
Also cited in the inquiry were CIIS director Thomas Narcise and a Customs broker previously identified in a 2022 Senate report as a major smuggler, as authorities pressed efforts to identify financiers and other possible accomplices.
