The government seized cigarette-making machines and tobacco products following the Bureau of Customs’ intensified drive against illicit trade during the community quarantine, the Department of Finance (DOF) said yesterday.

In a report by Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, the agency said it has confiscated P2.2 billion worth of smuggled cigarettes and other related paraphernalia in various ports from May 28 to July 15 alone. 

 Among the items seized by Customs included an estimated P53 million-worth of cigarettes sneaked into the country from China through a suspected new smuggling scheme. 

 Guerrero said the shipment confiscated last July 12 in the Port of Davao had originated from Ningbo, China and was transported by SITC Container Lines Philippines, Inc. (SITC) to the country. 

 Contained in two 2x40 footer containers, its consignee, Golden Aark Enterprise, declared the shipment as “tissue paper.” 

 The shipment first entered the country through the subport of the Mindanao Container Terminal in Misamis Oriental, where it was first declared as containing tissue paper and bound for the Port of Davao. 

 But when the cargo reached its final destination, the containers of smuggled cigarettes were not included in its inward foreign manifest despite other customs documents proving the existence of the shipment.  

After the Customs and Coastguard boarded the vessel, it was determined that the containers were on-board the vessel and that they were destined for Port of Davao.

This discrepancy, along with information received by Customs’ Intelligence Group regarding the suspected smuggled items, led customs officials to seize the shipment at the Port of Davao. 

Guerrero has ordered the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) to investigate this new modus operandi in smuggling cigarettes into the country.

 “Rest assured that the men and women of the Bureau of Customs will remain vigilant and committed in securing our country’s borders against smuggling and other customs fraud,” Guerrero said in his report to Dominguez.

Guerrero said the accreditation of Golden Aark has already been revoked and appropriate charges will be filed against the firm and its cohorts. 

 “From said circumstances, there is prima facie evidence that the carrier, SITC Container Lines Philippines, Inc., is abetting the consignee in concealing/smuggling the seized contraband in violation of Republic Act (RA) No. 10863 (Customs Modernization and Tariff Act),” he added. 

On top of intensifying its campaign against smuggling amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Customs has also been undertaking measures to facilitate and minimize disruption in the movement of critical medical equipment and supplies entering the ports.

The Customs  also confiscated P244 million-worth of smuggled, unregistered or counterfeit personal protective equipment and other medical supplies since March 25 up to May 3 as part of its ongoing efforts to stop the illegal importation, storage and hoarding of goods deemed essential to the fight against COVID-19.