Customs destroys P20M worth of smuggled cigarettes in Cagayan de Oro

Some P20 million worth of smuggled cigarettes were destroyed by Bureau of Customs personnel on Wednesday in Cagayan de Oro City.

A total of 18,000 reams of smuggled cigarettes were destroyed at the Digama Warehouse and Destruction Facility in Barangay Bayabas, the BOC said.

The goods were seized by the BOC at the Iligan subport, the Ozamiz subport and the Mindanao Container Terminal.

The BOC said the cigarettes were in consolidated shipments consigned to Black Petal Commercial and to individuals named Abdul Jamel Caunto Lomodag, Jamalodin Balindong, Abdul Dipatuan, Jamal Elias, Sabri Abbas, Johayne Maruhom, Sihawi Facol, Saphia Lanto, Benjamin Jajalis, and Ricky Ventura.

BOC-Cagayan de Oro District Collector John Simon said the cigarettes had no pertinent documents.

The shipments also did not undergo customs clearance, he said. —KG, GMA News