Customs seizes ₱2.2-B cigarette paraphernalia

The government seized cigarette-making machines and tobacco products following the Bureau of Customs’ intensified drive against illicit trade during the community quarantine, the Department of Finance (DOF) said yesterday.

In a report by Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, the agency said it has confiscated ₱2.2 billion worth of smuggled cigarettes and other related paraphernalia in various ports from May 28 to July 15 alone.

Among the items seized by Customs included an estimated ₱53 million worth of cigarettes sneaked into the country from China through a suspected new smuggling scheme.

Guerrero said the shipment confiscated last July 12 in the Port of Davao had originated from Ningbo, China and was transported by SITC Container Lines Philippines, Inc. (SITC) to the country.

Contained in two 2x40 footer containers, its consignee, Golden Aark Enterprise, declared the shipment as “tissue paper.”

The shipment first entered the country through the subport of the Mindanao Container Terminal in Misamis Oriental, where it was first declared as containing tissue paper and bound for the Port of Davao.

But when the cargo reached its final destination, the containers of smuggled cigarettes were not included in its inward foreign manifest despite other Customs documents proving the existence of the shipment.

After the Customs and Coastguard boarded the vessel, it was determined that the containers were on-board the vessel and that they were destined for Port of Davao.