BOC Port of Zamboanga on Tuesday, 25 January 2022, heads a joint follow-up operation that led to the confiscation of One Thousand Thirty-Eight (1038) master cases of undocumented cigarettes, equivalent to an estimated value of Php36,330,000 in an abandoned warehouse in Barangay Kasanyangan, Zamboanga City. Confiscated as well was One (1) unit Mitsubishi Canter Closed Van which was also abandoned in the vicinity of the warehouse
The team which is composed of members from the POZ Enforcement and Security Service – Customs Police Division (ESS-CPD) and the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), representatives from the PNP units of Zamboanga City Police Office, Zamboanga City Police Station 6, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, the 2nd Zamboanga City Mobile Force Company as well as operatives from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and other national and local law enforcement agencies, conducted the joint follow-up operation following a shooting incident that transpired in Dustone Drive, Barangay Kasanyangan, Zamboanga City on 24 January 2022.
Proper inventory was conducted by the Customs Inventory Team together with representatives from the other law enforcement agencies while The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) together with their Narcotic Detection Dogs also conducted narcotics detection operation on the apprehended cigarettes which yielded negative results for the presence of dangerous drugs.
The master cases of cigarettes are subject to the issuance of Warrant of Seizure and Detention for violation of Section 117 of R.A. 10863 otherwise known as the “Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) of 2016 in relation to Executive Order Number 245 entitled “Amended Rules and Regulations Governing the Exportation and Importation of Leaf Tobacco and Tobacco Products”.
The apprehended vehicle and master cases of cigarettes are secured and stored at the Fast Cargo Logistics Warehouse in Barangay Baliwasan, Zamboanga City where they are locked, sealed and guarded by the facility security guards as well as monitored and inspected daily by ESS personnel and Customs Security Guards.
