Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 2) — Authorities destroyed more than ₱1.43 billion worth of smuggled cigarettes in Zamboanga City, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said Tuesday.
In a statement, the BOC said 19,419 cases and 667 reams of smuggled cigarettes were destroyed. They were drenched in water and repeatedly crushed by payloader equipment.It noted the large volume of smuggled cigarettes was amassed following the agency’s various anti-smuggling operations in the Zamboanga Peninsula, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi in the first three months of 2023.
The BOC said this was “the largest condemnation of seized cigarettes in the Port of Zamboanga.”
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