P900-M worth of smuggled cigarettes, goods seized in Bulacan

Bureau of Customs (BOC) | FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Around P900 million worth of smuggled imported cigarettes and other general merchandise, including intellectual property rights (IPR) infringing goods, were seized in a warehouse in Bulacan, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) announced on Monday.

The BOC said that the smuggled goods were seized during an inspection last Friday, May 26.

It said a quick inventory of the goods currently ongoing showed that the illicit cigarettes found already amounted to P50 million.

“The team inspected the warehouses and found them to contain imported illicit cigarettes, and other imported general merchandise, housewares, kitchenwares, and IPR-infringing goods,” BOC Commissioner Bien Rubio said in a statement.

He added that the approximate value of the goods found in the warehouses is more or less P900 million.

According to Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Manila International Container Port (CIIS-MICP) chief Alvin Enciso, who led the operation, the warehouse in Plaridel, Bulacan, now has temporary padlocks and seals.

The owners of the goods would be asked to present importation documents or proof of payment by the Customs authorities, the BOC said.

If found without proper documents, the corresponding seizure and forfeiture proceedings will be conducted against the subject shipments for violation of Sec. 1400 (misdeclaration in goods declaration) in relation to Sec. 1113 (property subject to seizure and forfeiture) of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, it added.

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JPV