P40 million in smuggled cigarettes from China seized in Misamis port

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PNA) – Cigarettes illegally imported from China and valued at P40 million were seized by the Bureau of Customs-10 (BOC-10) on September 17, the agency said Tuesday.

The contraband arrived at the Mindanao Container Terminal, a sub-port under the jurisdiction of BOC-10, in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, according to Cris Angelo Andrade, the bureau’s regional information officer.

Andrade said the cargo had no import papers and other documents, prompting BOC-10 to declare it as a “pre-lodged shipment.”

Prior to the contraband’s arrival, the BOC-10 district office had already been alerted of the shipment by the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), Andrade said.

Upon arrival at the MCT, the shipment was immediately issued with pre-lodgement control order, he added.

The BOC-10 then put out an alert order against the shipment for violation of the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) memorandum circular No. 3, series of 2004, and NTA board resolution No. 079-2005 in relation to section 1113 (f) and section 1400 (misdeclaration) of Republic Act 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.

Oliver Valiente, the Customs’ CIIS field station chief, said on Tuesday the illegal shipment was alerted to them through “Project Crocodile.”

Project Crocodile is an information-sharing scheme between customs administration of member-countries notifying each other if there are movements of suspicious cigarette shipments.

The information provided to the CIIS was relayed through a global database operated jointly by countries involved in the international anti-smuggling campaign.

In a statement Tuesday, BOC-10 District Collector John Simon commended the "vigilance and dedication to duty" of the personnel instrumental in apprehending the contraband.  

“The Port of Cagayan de Oro will remain steadfast in its mandate to protect the country’s borders by preventing the entry of smuggled goods,” Simon said.

Early this month, BOC-10 led the destruction, through shredding, of 2,150 reams of cigarettes from China and other countries.