MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) confiscated nearly P28 million worth of smuggled cigarettes in Mindanao as the illegal entry of the commodity remains rampant.
BOC said its office in the Port of Zamboanga recently seized a motorized wooden craft worth P400,000 carrying illegally imported 482 master cases of cigarettes with an estimated market value of P27.6 million in Zamboanga City.
Customs likewise arrested and detained nine crew members who failed to present pertinent documents to prove the legality of the products.
The seized vessel and the master cases of cigarettes are now under the custody of BOC pending seizure and forfeiture proceedings.
The BOC is looking at the violation of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act and the Tobacco Exportation and Importation Rules and Regulations.
Data showed illicit cigarettes can be bought for as low as P350 per ream in online stores while the legitimate ones are sold at P1,750.
llicit trade is now at 2.026 billion stick with revenue losses likely to be at least P60.6 billion if the current illicit trade trend persists.
The government has been losing billions in taxes from illicit cigarette trade as enforcement remained weak even as the entry of the contraband commodity has been worsening over the years.