Customs seizes P4-M cigarettes declared as paper hand towels

The Bureau of Customs seized some P4 million worth of cigarettes declared as paper hand towels, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) port bound for Australia.

According to the BOC, the shipment -- found to have 2,520 reams of cigarettes -- was commissioned for export by a local firm based in Novaliches, Quezon City. It was bound for South Geelong Victoria.

But the BOC did not indicate the date of the shipments' seizure, and did not identify the local firm involved.

District Collector Carmelita Talusan issued the warrant of seizure for the cigarettes for violation of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).

Further, the BOC said case records will be referred to the Bureau Action Team Against Smuggles (BATAS) for possible case building. Personalities involved will also be profiled.

BOC is mandated to assess and collect customs revenues from imported goods, and exercise border control to prevent entry of smuggled goods. —Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/LBG, GMA News