A composite team of soldiers and Customs agents seized last March 2 over P1.4 billion worth of smuggled cigarettes from a warehouse in Indanan, Sulu.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) earlier confiscated smuggled agricultural products worth P101.6 million in 17 shipments at the port of Manila on February 27 to 28, 2023.
In another development, the BOC at the Port of Limay chalked up a record 21 months of consistently overshooting their collection targets.
The Sulu raiders were armed with a search and seizure warrant issued by Customs commissioner Bienvenido Rubio
Joint task force commander Maj. Gen. Ignatius Patrimonio said the raiders, composed of Army soldiers, Philippine Navy special forces operatives, and Customs intelligence agents swooped down on the warehouse reportedly owned by a certain Faidasil Sakandal of Sito Boutan, Barangay Kajatian in Indanan town..
The raiders found some 19,000 cases of assorted imported cigarettes bearing the brands B&E, New Far, Souvenir, Cannon, BroadPeak, and Bravo.
The contraband was subsequently shipped to Zamboanga City for proper disposal.
Customs examiners at the Port of Zamboanga have begun inventory of seized cigarettes, witnessed by CIIS and Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) agents and warehouse representatives.
Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Roy Galido commended the troopers of the Joint Task Force Sulu, and attributed the successful operation to good interagency collaboration.
In a statement, the BOC said several containers mostly from China that arrived at the Manila port from December 29, 2022 to February 12, 2023 were found to contain misdeclared and undeclared items, such as red and white onions, mushroom balls, and sugar.
Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Juvymax Uy said intelligence officials and personnel under Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio‘s leadership immediately examined the suspicious containers.
“While we aren’t done yet examining all these suspected containers, we’re already working on getting to the bottom of these illegal operations. Our good commissioner and our port officers and personnel are invaluable assets to the agency. With Commissioner Rubio at the helm, our teams are working day and night to protect our borders,” he said.
The Customs examiners found red and white onions, mushroom balls, and sugar in shipments to three local consignees, namely, RYY Consumer Goods Trading, MFBY Consumer Goods Trading, and M.S. Fab Builder.
The Alert Orders (AOs) were issued after Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) director Verne Enciso received information about the contents of the containers.
“Originally, these shipments were declared to have pizza dough, shabu-shabu balls like fish balls, and some pneumatic tools. But, so far, of the 22 containers we have opened this week, we already found agricultural products, such as sugar and onions,” Enciso said.
After receiving the report from the Customs Intelligence Group, CIIS-Manila International Container Port (CIIS-MICP) chief Alvin Enciso put on hold the containers and led their physical examinations.
“It’s critical for us here at the port to act swiftly on these matters because if these containers are indeed carrying agricultural products, then we have to coordinate with other key government agencies for the proper documentation. Here, we’re not just on the lookout for contraband items like illegal drugs and such, but we’re also protecting our markets from the economic impact of smuggled agri goods,” the Customs official said.
BOC Limay district collector William Balayo said for February, they surpassed their revenue target of P8.4 billion by 9.6 percent, or P9.3 billion.
From June 2021 to February 2023, unit’s collection surpluses totaled P35.9 billion.
Balayo cited his personnel for their strong performance.
Balayo also acknowledged partner agencies and stakeholders in putting faith in the BOC Port of Limay for the implementation of trade facilitation and border security.
For 2022, BOC Limay recorded a total collection of P78 billion, surpassing by 48 percent the original target of P53 billion.
Balayo earlier said modernization at the BOC boosted the agency’s collection effort.