BOC seizes new shipments of Mighty cigarettes in Cebu and Tacloban

Three containers loaded with cigarettes of the Mighty cigarette brand, and bearing what appear to be fake tax stamps, were seized by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) after the shipments arrived in Cebu and Tacloban.
 
"The first two containers were unloaded on Sunday from MV Don Alberto Sr., which docked at the Port of Cebu from Manila via Tacloban, Leyte province," the bureau said on Wednesday.
 
Another shipment was seized on Tuesday in Tacloban, with Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon supervising the operation, the bureau noted.
 
"Operatives led by Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) Director Neil Estrella inspected two containers and opened one box at the yard of Gothong Lines at Pier No. 4 in the Port of Cebu," the BOC said.
 
Estrella said the CIIS conducted the raid following a tip on the arrival of the shipments.

 
Present during the BOC’s initial examination were representatives from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the consignee, Rolando Pocong, Shipping Lines, the Philippine Coast Guard, as well as members of media, the said.
 
Estrella said the boxes were believed to be part of several shipments of Mighty cigarettes bearing fake tax stamps, according to the BOC.
 
Last week, the BOC and the BIR confiscated 11,044 master cases of Mighty cigarettes worth P215 million in General Santos City and 62,200 master cases valued at P1.98 billion in San Simon, Pampanga.
 
 “The bureau has been receiving reports that some of the products that were not seized in Pampanga were sent to different warehouses in the country,” Estrella said.
 
The identity of the consignee and the market value of the Cebu shipment have yet to be determined.
 
The seized cargo will be turned over to the BIR-Cebu.

In January, BIR Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay ordered an investigation into allegations of counterfeit tax stamps on packs of Mighty Corp. cigarettes, after the government seized in November over P1 billion of fake cigarettes and bogus tax stamps with an equivalent tax value of P175 million.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Tuesday confirmed he ordered Alexander Wong Chu King, who owns Mighty Corp., arrested on grounds of  economic sabotage.

King said he will cooperate in any investigation into his alleged acts of economic sabotage.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said both the BIR and BOC are preparing an air-tight case against the cigarette company. — With Jon viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News