NBI filing raps vs ‘big fish’ over P13 billion cigarette smuggling

MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation would file charges against at least 13 people, including the operators of a private port in Cebu, over the smuggling of an estimated P13 billion worth of cigarettes, NBI Director Melvin Matibag announced yesterday.

Matibag said investigators would submit before the Department of Justice the complaints, which marks an NBI move to hold port operators and shipment handlers also accountable instead of just limiting the charges to truck drivers and cargo personnel.

“This time, we are going after the big fish so they can be held accountable. This sends a signal that the government is serious about fighting agricultural smuggling,” Matibag said, noting that the alleged operation is being run by a “big family” and registered shippers.

He declined to identify the family in the report, but said that the complaints would include economic sabotage and agricultural smuggling under the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act.

The complaint stemmed from the seizure in June of 59 containers of cigarettes allegedly smuggled from China.

The shipment carried different brands with “European-sounding” names and valued at P13 billion, based on a Bureau of Internal Revenue estimate.

Matibag said investigators received intelligence reports that the cigarettes were transferred to smaller vessels before being brought to a private port in Cebu.

From there, the shipments were allegedly transported to other ports, including the North Harbor, for distribution across the country.

NBI probers have yet to establish how long the operation had been goin on, although authorities believe some shipments might have entered the country undetected before the June seizure.

The NBI is also looking into the possible involvement of law enforcement personnel, although none has been included in the complaints so far, according to Matibag.

He warned that any government employee found involved would face greater accountability, as he noted that the government could have lost nearly half of the shipment’s estimated value in potential tax collections.

“It is very unlikely that 59 containers of illegal goods would pass through without anyone knowing,” Matibag said.