P10-B smuggled cigarettes seized

Authorities have seized more than P10 billion worth of smuggled cigarettes following stepped-up enforcement operations, Bureau of Customs (BoC) Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno said Sunday.

Nepomuceno clarified in a radio interview that the P10 billion figure represents the combined market value of all illegal cigarette seizures made by authorities.

“That is no joke. That is a massive business,” Nepomuceno said. “Even if you catch them one after another, if they manage to slip through just once, they will recover all their losses.”

The BoC chief cited that while initial seizures targeted shipments entering through major international ports, illicit operators shifted tactics around October last year.

“When they were being caught at the international ports, they diverted around October last year and started manufacturing locally instead,” Nepomuceno said, citing recent raids on illegal factories in parts of Tarlac and Pampanga.

Smugglers have also increased their use of maritime “backdoors” to transport illicit goods into the country, according to the BoC.

“Now, they have increased their entry using backdoors,” Nepomuceno said. “Those are Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and they have also moved towards parts of Mindoro, Batangas, all the way to Navotas and Tondo.”

The statement follows a recent operation off Lutangan Island in Olutangan, Zamboanga Sibugay, where authorities intercepted about P234.3 million worth of alleged smuggled foreign-brand cigarettes.