Smuggled cigarettes seized in Pagadian City

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines — Agents of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) intercepted around 90 boxes of smuggled cigarettes in an operation here Monday, Sept. 30.

BIR District Officer Amanoding Esmail said the smuggled cigarettes were seized by regional operatives after months of surveillance of the several warehouses in the city.

On Monday, workers in a warehouse in Barangay San Pedro and a store in the public market in Barangay Sta. Lucia, allegedly owned by a Chinese businessman, were asked but failed to present documents to prove the legality of the shipment and manufacture of the cigarettes.

Authorities said the smuggled items could possibly be from Malaysia and Indonesia, shipped via the so-called southern backdoor.

Esmail said his agency would subject the seized items to “forfeiture proceedings.”

The police provided assistance to the BIR and BOC in carrying out the raid.

/atm