BOC disposes of P1.5-B in smuggled cigarettes, fake revenue stamps

The Bureau of Customs-Port of Zamboanga oversaw the disposal of P195 million worth of smuggled cigarettes and P350 million worth of raw materials for cigarette-making at a logistics warehouse in Zamboanga City's Barangay Baliwasan, according to a Saturday BOC statement.

More than 5,500 master cases of cigarettes were spread on an outdoor yard of the warehouse, drenched with water, then transported and disposed of at a sanitary landfill in Barangay Salaan.

The smuggled cigarettes were seized in separate operations, the first of which took place in May 2020, in the Zamboanga Peninsula, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.

Meanwhile, P1-billion worth of fake internal revenue stamps used in cigarette cases were also turned over to the Bureau of Internal Revenue for proper investigation and disposal.

The counterfeit internal revenue stamps were taken into BOC custody during a series of apprehensions last May 2020 in Pagadian City. — DVM, GMA News