Operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) seized around P197 million worth of smuggled cigarettes in two separate raids in Quezon City and Caloocan City.
Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said the operations were in coordination with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) amid the government’s efforts to run after smuggling which has been affecting the economy.
“These operations were meant to disrupt the illegal trade of smuggled cigarettes,” said Marbil, saying they used the BIR mission orders in effecting the raids in the two warehouses.
CIDG director Maj. Gen. Leo Francisco said the first operation was conducted on Sep.t 12 on a warehouse on Balingasa Street in Balintawak, Quezon City where a total of 1,729,248 packs of smuggled cigarettes, including brands such as FarStar, Mighty Red, Marlboro, Camel and Milano were confiscated.
The seized items, according to Francisco, have an estimated value of P184.3 million.
“The operation resulted in the arrest of one Chinese and two Filipinos involved in the smuggling operation,” said Francisco.
At around 11 p.m. on the same day, CIDG operatives and BIR personnel swooped down on a warehouse in Grace Park West in Barangay 54, Caloocan City and resulted in the confiscation of smuggled Fortune, Camel, and Modern Green brands of cigarettes.
The estimated value of the confiscated cigarettes in Caloocan City was around P12.8 million.
“All confiscated items were found without the required BIR tax stamps, affirming their smuggled status,” said Francisco.
The confiscated items were taken to the BIR main office for safekeeping, while the arrested individuals are currently in the custody of CIDG for proper processing and investigation, according to Francisco.
He said charges for violations of the National Internal Revenue Code particularly related to Tax Evasion are being prepared against the suspects.