ZAMBOANGA CITY- Some P170.14-million in smuggled cigarettes were intercepted in the seas off Parang, Sulu on Friday, August 14. Naval Command Western Mindanao (NCWM) personnel also held 24 persons on board, composed of five crew members and 19 laborers. NCWM personnel under Naval Task Force 61...
CEBU CITY – Seized and forfeited cigarettes, cigarette-manufacturing machines, and other related items linked to around P240.64 million in unpaid taxes were destroyed in a warehouse in Mandaue City on Thursday, Aug. 13. Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go led the destruction of the items through...
The Philippine National Police (PNP) said it has stepped up efforts to curb the movement of undocumented cigarette shipments by sea after a motorized boat loaded with about P6.5 million worth of suspected smuggled tobacco was intercepted off Zamboanga City. PNP Chief Police Gen. Jose Melencio C....
Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno has warned the agency’s senior officials against attempts to steal seized smuggled cigarettes, ordering tighter monitoring and stricter inventory accountability. Nepomuceno, through a memorandum dated Aug. 3, told the BOC’s high-ranking...
The Philippine National Police has intensified the surveillance operations and strengthened coordination with neighboring countries amid the continuous confiscation of smuggled goods, particularly cigarettes that usually sneaked in the country using the southern backdoor. But PNP chief Gen. Jose...
A police officer based in Zamboanga City and a businessman were arrested in Kalawit, Zamboanga del Norte on Friday, July 31, for allegedly transporting smuggled cigarettes valued at P1.8 million. The suspects were identified as Aziz, a 36-year-old businessman, and a 34-year-old patrolman....
A police officer assigned to Camp Crame, Quezon City is facing criminal and administrative charges after he was arrested in a Pagadian City checkpoint on Sunday, July 12, for alleged smuggling. Investigation said that authorities established the checkpoint in Barangay Tiguma after receiving a tip...
Nearly ₱1 billion worth of illegal cigarettes concealed in 25 container vans have been intercepted by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in Mandaue City, Cebu on Thursday, July 2, marking the country’s second-largest tax collection agency’s major seizures under its intensified campaign against...
Authorities intercepted 23 containers of smuggled cigarettes valued at ₱1.7 billion at a private wharf in Manila, marking one of the largest illicit tobacco seizures this year as the government intensifies its crackdown on tax evasion and border fraud. The joint enforcement operation, conducted...
More than P70 million worth of cigarettes, believed to have been smuggled into the country through the southern backdoor, were confiscated following raids on three makeshift warehouses in a coastal area in Picong, Lanado Del Sur. Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez, Jr., chief of the Philippine National...
Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez, Jr., chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), ordered a thorough investigation to identify and arrest the financiers and syndicates behind the P13.25 million worth of smuggled cigarettes seized in Lanao del Sur. Nartatez said he already tasked the Police...
Thousands of Filipino youth advocates are calling on the government to immediately ban vapes and e-cigarettes, citing rising nicotine use among young people and what they described as the tobacco and vape industry’s continued targeting of the youth. The call was made during the “Pilipinas,...
