P4.2 million smuggled cigarettes seized in Zamboanga City

Authorities seized some P4.2 million worth of smuggled cigarettes in a joint buy-bust operation in Barangay Cabatangan, Zamboanga City, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Wednesday.

In a statement, PNP officer-in-charge Police Lieutenant General Vicente Danao Jr. said three suspects were arrested and identified as Khan Adin, Aldin Sabtal and Benshariff Bari.

During the operation, personnel from the PNP, Philippine Air Force (PAF) and Bureau of Customs (BOC) confiscated 121 master cases of Fort cigarettes with an estimated market value of P4,235,000 concealed in an orange Isuzu Elf closed van.

“This wouldn’t be possible without the careful intelligence gathering of our personnel and the strong cooperation among our stakeholders,” Danao said.

In an earlier report, the Department of Finance (DOF) said the BOC and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) have surpassed their collection targets for 2021.

Citing data from its Revenue Operations Group, the DOF said that the two agencies collected a combined P2.732 trillion last year, overshooting their combined target of P2.698 trillion by 1.26%.

The past year’s collection was also 6.93% higher than the P1.951 trillion the agency collected in 2020. -- BAP, GMA News