160-M worth of fake cigarettes, smuggled goods seized in Bulacan

The Bureau of Customs (BOC), through its Enforcement and Security Service (ESS), intercepted over P160-million worth of fake cigarettes and other smuggled goods stored inside several Bulacan warehouses.

In a Sunday statement, the BOC said customs agents found 1,339 master cases of fake cigarettes, valued at P40.170 million, inside a warehouse in Benedicto Street in Prenza Uno, Marilao, Bulacan.

The cigarettes were branded as Belmont, Camel Cigarettes, Double Happiness, Fortune, Hope, Marlboro, Modern, and Mighty .

Meanwhile, nine cigarette-making machines and fake cigarette tax stamps worth P120 million were discovered by the BOC inside a warehouse in Kaybanto, Caysio Road in Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

Other items seized by the government included imported drinking glasses and wall clocks.

"Warrants of Seizure and Detention (WSDs) will be issued against the subject items," the BOC said, pointing to violations of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.

In March 2017, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) filed P9.56 billion tax evasion charges against Mighty Corp. before the Department of Justice (DOJ) for supposedly using bogus tax stamps.

Mighty Corp. had to be sold to Japan Tobacco Inc. (JTI) for it to be able to pay the government the P25 billion to settle its obligations.

In November 2018, the BIR also seized over half a million packs of Mighty cigarettes—300,000 in Quezon City, and 250,000 in Caloocan—which had fake BIR stamps, or had no stamps at all.

Mighty has since denied any involvement in the production of the said cigarettes with fake tax stamps. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/DVM, GMA News