P1.7-B smuggled cigarettes seized at private Cebu port

ILLEGAL SHIPMENT Boxes of suspected smuggled cigarettes worth over P1.7 billion were seized following a joint operation by the Bureau of Customs (BOC), National Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Internal Revenue. —BOC PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Suspected smuggled cigarettes worth over P1.7 billion, concealed in 24 containers from Cebu, were seized by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and other government agencies.

The BOC, National Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) conducted the operation after the NBI provided intelligence information.

According to the BOC, the cigarettes were misdeclared as consumer goods aboard the vessel ASC Big Boy at Pier 7, a private port in Cebu, before being transferred to Manila on the same day, June 19.

Article continues after this advertisement