BIR, maritime police seize 825 cases of contraband cigarettes in Digos City
BIR Officials from Davao Region, Digos City, and Police Maritime Command conduct an inventory of the seized cigarettes on Thursday. (Photo by Eldie S. Aguirre)
DIGOS CITY – A joint operation of the Bureau of Internal Revenue Regional Office No. 19, Digos City Revenue District Office No. 115, and Regional Maritime Police resulted in the confiscation of some 820 master cases of various brands of cigarettes on Thursday.
Authorities said the seized contraband, which is believed to have come from Malaysia, could have fetched the government an estimated P22.5 million in excise taxes.
The contrabands were discovered in a warehouse in Barangay Tres De Mayo.
Investigators are still determining the real owner of the smuggled cigarettes as the owner of the establishment indicated as a consignee already died years back, raising suspicions among the authorities that a family member could have taken over the business.
Earlier, Digos City Mayor Josef Cagas ordered the local police to step up its law enforcement activities in the city’s coasts after intelligence information pointed to smuggling activities being undertaken there.
