DAVAO CITY –— The Bureau of Customs, Port of Zamboanga, destroyed 5,624 master cases and 1,171 reams of seized and forfeited smuggled cigarettes on November 30, 2023, in a customs-rented warehouse in Brgy. Tetuan, Zamboanga City.
The destroyed cigarettes has an estimated worth Php 323.59 million were seized in separate maritime patrol operations and customs checkpoints in Zamboanga Peninsula, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, from May to November 2023.
Engr. Arthur G. Sevilla Jr., Acting District Collector of the Port of Zamboanga, led the activity, which was witnessed by partner agencies in the Bureau’s anti-smuggling campaign. Among those present were the local government unit, law enforcement agencies, representatives from the Commission on Audit, and other concerned stakeholders.
Acting District Collector Sevilla stressed that the seizure and destruction of these contrabands resonate with the instruction of Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio to relentlessly combat the illicit tobacco trade in the country and forge a close partnership with the law enforcement agencies to further strengthen the Bureau’s anti-smuggling campaign.
The cigarettes are drenched in water by elements from the Bureau of Fire Protection, subsequently crushed by payloader equipment, and then disposed of in the sanitary landfill in Brgy. Salaan.
Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio commended Acting District Collector Sevilla and the men and women of the Port of Zamboanga for their vigilance in preventing the entry of illicit cigarettes into the country. “The Bureau of Customs will be persistent in its relentless efforts in stopping the proliferation of unlawfully imported tobacco products in the country and safeguard the nation’s interests against smugglers”, he stated.
