Bureau of Customs. (File photo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — Fake cigarettes, raw tobacco materials and cigarette packing machines amounting to around P1.3 billion were intercepted by authorities, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) reported Friday.
BOC said operatives under the Enforcement and Security Service (BOC-ESS) intercepted on Thursday a warehouse said to contain fake cigarettes at Brgy. Palattao in Naguilian town, Isabela.
Intial inventory showed that roughly 2,000 master cases of assorted cigarettes, ten units of cigarette-making machines, 12 units of cigarette packing machines, and 300 boxes of raw materials were stored inside the warehouse.
The said goods were immediately intercepted for lack of permit and violation of Customs laws, rules and regulations, BOC said.