AT least P110 million worth of confiscated smuggled cigarettes have been destroyed by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Thursday.
Segundo Sigmundfreud Barte Jr., the BOC-Zamboanga district collector, said the cigarettes consisting of 3,110 master cases and 1,372 reams were burned in front of the BOC warehouse in Barangay San Jose Gusu.
“These cigarettes were seized in separate anti-smuggling operations together with partner agencies from December 2021 to March 2022,” Barte said.
He vowed BOC-Zamboanga will continue to intensify its campaign to put a stop to the smuggling of cigarettes.
“The destruction of these cigarettes is a warning that we are serious in our campaign against smuggling,” he said, adding that had the cigarettes been legally shipped, the products would have been a revenue source for the government.
He noted the smugglers adopted several schemes to slip past smuggled items from port authorities, such as concealing contraband in sacks and fish ice cases, among others.
The destruction was done together with representatives from the city government, law enforcement agencies, as well as the Commission on Audit, and the Department of Health.
Photo courtesy Teofilo Garcia Jr. PNA
