Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 1) — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Thursday destroyed smuggled cigarettes worth ₱323.59 million in Zamboanga City.
BOC Zamboanga said 5,624 master cases and 1,171 reams were seized in different checkpoints in the Zamboanga Peninsula, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi from May to November this year.
It added that the smuggled items were drenched with water by the Bureau of Fire Protection and were destroyed using a payloader in a customs-rented warehouse in Barangay Tetuan. These were eventually discarded in a sanitary landfill in Barangay Salaan.
Zamboanga City is known for its seaports and port facilities for exports of sardines and goods.
“The Bureau of Customs will be persistent in its relentless efforts in stopping the proliferation of unlawfully imported tobacco products in the country and safeguard the nation’s interests against smugglers,” Zamboanga Port Acting District Collector Arthur Sevilla Jr. said in a statement.
Sevilla vowed to strengthen their contraband operations under the instruction of BOC chief Bienvenido Rubio to combat illicit tobacco trade.
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