SMUGGLED CIGARETTES. Officials from the Bureau of Internal Revenue in Davao Region (BIR-11), Digos City, and Police Maritime Command inspect some of the seized smuggled cigarettes from a warehouse in Digos City, Davao del Sur on Thursday (Jan. 12, 2023). At least 820 master cases of various brands of smuggled cigarettes were seized. (PNA photo by Eldie S. Aguirre)
DIGOS CITY – An operation led by the Bureau of Internal Revenue in Davao Region (BIR-11) here Thursday resulted in the confiscation of 820 master cases of various brands of cigarettes amounting to PHP22.5 million, a BIR special investigator reported.
The cigarettes, recovered from a local warehouse registered to a person later found to be deceased, could have come from Malaysia, the investigator said. He asked not to be named due to "some operational procedures."
He said the warehouse, located in Barangay Tres de Mayo, has been used as a "front" for smuggling activities for some time, and that the son of the deceased owner may bear legal responsibility over the seized illicit goods.
BIR officers who took part in the operation said they will release Friday all information relating to the raid, including the identities of the suspects.
Earlier, Digos City Mayor Josef Cagas challenged the police and other law enforcement agencies to get rid of cigarette smuggling in the city.
Responding to reports that smuggling became rampant in the last few months of 2022, Cagas also called on the village chiefs of coastal barangays to keep a tight watch in their respective areas.
The mayor noted that some smugglers are using motorized boats to deliver their contraband. (PNA)
