BOC destroys P300-M worth of confiscated cigarettes in Zambo City

Firefighters douse water more than 8,000 master cases of confiscated cigarettes that formed a huge mountain pile inside the logistic compound of Fast Cargo in Barangay Baliwasan, Zamboanga City. The Bureau of Customs estimates the confiscated goods to be worth P300 million. PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED BY THE BUREAU OF CUSTOMS.

ZAMBOANGA CITY—The Bureau of Customs (BOC) destroyed P300 million worth of smuggled cigarettes it confiscated from May to November this year.

Piles of 8,250 master cases of the confiscated cigarettes formed a huge mountain that dwarfed the two fire trucks bombarding it with water inside the Fast Cargo Logistic Warehouse in Baliwasan village on Wednesday, December 15.

Lawyer Segundo Sigmundfreud Barte Jr., BOC district collector in Zamboanga City, said he was hoping the destruction of the smuggled cigarettes would deter smugglers from their illegal activities in the future.

He estimates the worth of the smuggled goods in terms of unpaid duties and taxes to the government to be P300 million.

Firefighters douse with water more than 8,000 master cases of confiscated cigarettes that formed a huge mountain pile inside the logistic compound of Fast Cargo in Barangay Baliwasan, Zamboanga City. The Bureau of Customs estimates the confiscated goods to be worth P300 million. PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED BY THE BUREAU OF CUSTOMS.

“These are seized smuggled cigarettes in separate anti-smuggling operations in Zamboanga Peninsula and Basilan, Sulu and Tawitawi (Basulta) from May to November this year,” Barte said.

He said smugglers had been creating new ways to slip contraband inside legitimate cargoes, hoping they would not be detected by the authorities.

“(Sometimes, t)heir contrabands are kept inside sacks of dried fish, at times, they declare the goods as prime commodities or junk foods but our operatives and our security forces are vigilant in the checkpoints,” he said. “We have collected this amount of smuggled items from them.”

Smugglers are also monitoring the movement of security forces.

“They don’t use the regular ports, they use islands and travel at night where they thought our operatives won’t detect them,” he said.

Barte said smuggling had been bleeding the government’s coffers dry as smugglers tried to get away with paying duties. “We need to collect more taxes because of the pandemic. Everyone is affected here, so we enjoin everyone to continue their vigilance so that smuggling operations will never thrive,” he added.

He said that from January to April this year, BOC also destroyed P80 million worth of confiscated smuggled cigarettes that were shipped to this city passing through a backdoor.

Firefighters douse with water more than 8,000 master cases of confiscated cigarettes that formed a huge mountain pile inside the logistic compound of Fast Cargo in Barangay Baliwasan, Zamboanga City. The Bureau of Customs estimated the confiscated goods to be worth P300 million. PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED BY THE BUREAU OF CUSTOMS.

Brands like Arthur Green, Arthur Red, Forth, Astro have been enjoying huge sales here; with each pack selling at P20 to P30, way down from the prevailing P50 to P80 price per pack of locally manufactured cigarettes.

“We will not stop,” Barte said. “Smugglers are watching how their capital is being crushed beyond use. We are always intensifying the operations,” Barte said as he thanked the different agencies like the Philippine Coast Guard, the Special Action Force, the city government, the mobile police force for taking part in the operations, and the citizens for their vigilance.

The wooden hulls used to carry the smuggled items were turned over to the city police.

/MUF