(Photos courtesy of BOC)
MANILA – Customs officers seized shipments of shabu and fake cigarettes with a total value of PHP15 million in separate operations in Metro Manila and Central Luzon, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) reported on Thursday.
In a statement, Jeoffrey Tacio, director of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Manila International Container Port (CIIS-MICP) said the imported fake cigarettes worth PHP9 million were discovered at a warehouse in Valenzuela City on March 11.
During the implementation of the letter of authority (LOA) and mission order (MO) signed by Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero, the inspection team found master cases of imported fake cigarettes, such as Marlboro reds, Mighty, Modern Cigarettes, Carnival, Red Golden Dragon (RGD) Classic, and others.
The packs of cigarettes contained the same Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) stamps and serial numbers.
“It is not even enough that we seize a whole warehouse, where these cigarettes without permits and legitimate stamps were found. We need to find the root of these operations,” Tacio said.
The goods were hauled to the BOC premises and will be subjected to seizure and forfeiture proceedings for violating Section 118 concerning Section 1113 of Republic Act 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
Customs Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Raniel Ramiro lauded the operations for stopping the distribution of these fake cigarette products from reaching the markets.
Also on March 11, the BOC-Port of Clark also seized 962 grams of shabu worth PHP6 million concealed inside travel mugs.
District Collector Alexandra Lumontad said the shipment arrived from Johannesburg, South Africa, and was subjected to non-intrusive examination.
The examination showed that the contraband was concealed in between the layers of the travel mugs.
Aside from the travel mugs, the shipment contained one piece of snow sock, two body vests, two pieces of baby grow, and a sheep snow blanket.
The shipment was also subjected to K9 sniffing by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) which gave positive indications of the presence of illegal drugs and a field testing conducted by Customs Anti-illegal Drugs Task Force Clark personnel through a spectrometer reader.
Representative samples were taken and turned over to PDEA for chemical laboratory analysis which confirmed that the powdered substance from the shipment was indeed shabu.
A warrant of seizure and detention was issued against the shipment for violation of Sections 118 (g), 119 (d), and 1113 par. f, i & l of R.A. 10863 otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act in relation to R.A. 9165 otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. (PNA)
