By Teofilo Garcia, Jr. | Philippine News Agency
ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Bureau of Customs (BOC) together with partner agencies destroyed more than 8,000 master cases of smuggled cigarettes worth P300 million on Wednesday, Dec. 15.
The cigarettes were stacked, drenched by firetrucks, and crushed with the use of heavy equipment in front of the BOC-rented warehouse in Barangay Baliwasan.
After crushing, the cigarettes were disposed of at the sanitary landfill.
“These cigarettes were seized in separate anti-smuggling operations in Zamboanga Peninsula and BaSulTa (Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi) from May to November this year,” BOC-Zamboanga District Collector Segundo Sigmundfreud Barte Jr. said in an interview.
Barte said the destruction of the contraband serves as a warning that they are serious in the campaign against smuggling.
“The smugglers often declare their cargoes during anti-smuggling operations or Customs checkpoint as sacks of dried fish or fishes with other prime commodities or junk foods inside iceboxes,” he added.
He thanked other law enforcement agencies for their unwavering support in the campaign against smuggling in this part of the country.
Meanwhile, he said they have so far filed three cases against smugglers and that these are with the RTC (Regional Trial Court).
However, he said most of the accused claimed they were just contracted to transport the contrabands through cellular phone transactions.
“They absorb the liability. Although we pity them, but there’s nothing we can do than to file the case,” Barte said, citing the financiers do not show up despite the arrest of their transporter and confiscation of the contraband.
He said the government should impose stiff penalties to stop smuggling activity in the country. (PNA) – bny
