P900-M smuggled cigarettes, other goods found in Bulacan
The approximate value of the goods found in the warehouses is more or less P900 million, according to the Bureau of Customs. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO AN inspection of warehouses in Plaridel, Bulacan by the Bureau of Customs (BoC) on Friday, May 26, yielded some P900 million worth of smuggled cigarettes and other general merchandise. A quick […]
Philippine Times 
The approximate value of the goods found in the warehouses is more or less P900 million, according to the Bureau of Customs. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
AN inspection of warehouses in Plaridel, Bulacan by the Bureau of Customs (BoC) on Friday, May 26, yielded some P900 million worth of smuggled cigarettes and other general merchandise.
A quick inventory of the goods showed that the illicit cigarettes amounted to P50 million.
The operation came after Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio issued a Letter of Authority (LoA) and Mission Order (MO), which were immediately implemented by agents from the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Manila International Container Port (CIIS-MICP), Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
“The team inspected the warehouses and found them to contain imported illicit cigarettes and other imported general merchandise, housewares, kitchenware and intellectual property rights -infringing goods,” Rubio said.
CIIS-MICP chief Alvin Enciso led the operation.
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“Our team showed the LoA to the warehouse representatives and they proceeded with the inspection after it was acknowledged,” he said, adding that the warehouses now have temporary padlocks and seals.
Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Group Juvymax Uy lauded the operation.
“This operation shows what we can achieve with proper coordination between BoC and key government agencies,” he said.
“More than anything else, this shows what we’ve been saying all along, that the bureau will not stop its anti-smuggling drive against agricultural products and illicit cigarettes,” Uy added.
The owners of the goods will be asked to present importation documents or proof of payment by the Customs authorities.
If found without proper documents, the corresponding seizure and forfeiture proceedings will be conducted against the subject shipments for violation of Sec. 1400 (misdeclaration in goods declaration) in relation to Sec. 1113 (property subject to seizure and forfeiture) of Republic Act 10863 known as the “Customs Modernization and Tariff Act” (CMTA).
