The Bureau of Customs-Port of Legazpi, through its Customs Border Protection Team (CBPT), which included the Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) and Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), conducted a joint operation with the Philippine Coast Guard-Sorsogon and intercepted 16 cartons of smuggled cigarettes containing 758 reams valued at Php 1,061,200 on April 17, 2023, at Matnog Port, Sorsogon.

The smuggled cigarettes were being transported in an Urvan Shuttle from Ongpin, Manila to Cebu City without legal documents and revenue seals.

The confiscated cigarettes and their conveyance will be issued a Warrant of Seizure and Detention for violating Sections 117 and 1113 (a) and (f) of RA 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, as well as violations of Republic Act No. 8424, known as the National Internal Revenue Code of the Philippines.

Collector Segundo Sigmundfreud Z. Barte Jr. emphasized that “it is through Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio’s direction that the BOC was able to intercept these smuggled cigarettes. The BOC’s Border Patrol team will continue to strictly enforce our customs laws and regulations, in accordance with one of the five-point agendas of Commissioner Rubio: to curb smuggling in the country and collect lawful revenue.”

“We remain vigilant in our fight against smuggling and will continue to implement strict measures to prevent the entry of smuggled goods into the country. The recent seizure of these smuggled cigarettes is a testament to our unwavering commitment to curb smuggling and collect lawful revenue for the government,” said Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio.

The Bureau of Customs is committed to intensifying its anti-smuggling measures, in all forms, as directed by Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno and President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. #