Cebu Customs intercepts P54.6M of smuggled cigarettes

Customs officials in Cebu have intercepted cargo carrying around P54 million worth of smuggled cigarettes on August 16, which were inside container vans declared to contain furniture. | Photos courtesy of BOC – Cebu

CEBU CITY, Philippines -= Customs officials in Cebu intercepted on August 16, 2020, cargoes carrying more than 1,000 boxes of smuggled cigarettes.

The Bureau of Customs in Cebu (BOC – Cebu), in a statement released on Thursday, August 20, said the value of the smuggled goods amounted to a total of P54.6 million.

BOC-Cebu said the cigarettes arrived in Cebu last August 16 inside 40-footer container vans which were declared to have contained furniture such as drawers, tables, cabinets, and lockers.

However, they said further inspection was conducted on Monday, August 17 when they received information that the shipment also contained cigarettes.

X-ray and physical examinations were also made on Wednesday, August 19 whose results confirmed to Customs officials that they were indeed cigarette boxes.

“The physical examination yielded 1,092 master cases of “Astro” brand cigarettes,” BOC- Cebu said.

“The shipment was issued with Warrant of Seizure and Detention for violation of Section 1113 (f), (i), and (l) of Republic Act No. 10863 or the “Customs Modernization and Tariff Act” and will undergo seizure and forfeiture proceedings,” they added.

It can also be recalled that BOC-Cebu last June also intercepted a shipment from China after they confirmed it contained smuggled fake cigarettes hidden inside a misdeclared container. /dbs

READ MORE: Cebu customs seize P76 million of ‘fake cigarettes’ from China