The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has recently destroyed P1.43 billion worth of smuggled cigarettes in a bid to curb smuggling in the country.
In a statement, the BOC said the cigarettes were apprehended during various anti-smuggling operations in Zamboanga Peninsula, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi during the first quarter of this year.
The cigarettes, totaling to 19,419 cases and 667 reams, were destroyed last April 28 in a customs-rented warehouse in Barangay Baliwasan, Zamboanga City.
The condemned master cases of cigarettes were seized for violating Section 117 of Republic Act 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act of 2016, in relation to Executive Order 245 entitled “Amended Rules and Regulations Governing the Exportation and Importation of Leaf Tobacco and Tobacco Products”.
“The BOC persistently exerts effort to curb smuggling in all forms,” Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said.
“Condemnations 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,” he added.
The BOC said the cigarettes were drenched in water and repeatedly crushed by payloader equipment in the presence of all partner agencies and stakeholders.
The condemned cigarettes will be transported and disposed in the sanitary landfill. – Angela Celis
