The Bureau of Customs (BoC) destroyed seized smuggled cigarettes worth P245.8 million last May 5 at the Fast Cargo Logistics Baliwasan in Zamboanga City.
The confiscated cigarettes were destroyed outside the fast cargo warehouse using a 40-ton forklift equipment. The smuggled shipments were drenched in water, crushed, and then disposed at the City Sanitary Landfill in Barangay Salaan, the bureau said.
District Collector Segundo Sigmundfreud Barte Jr. said that the destruction of the contrabands is pursuant to the instruction of Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero “to destroy smuggled cigarettes once the final decree of forfeiture is rendered.”
“This is also part of the agency’s drive to combat smuggling and will serve as a warning to smugglers to stop their illegal activities,” Barte said Friday.
The district collector also expressed his appreciation to all law enforcement agencies in the city for their continuous support in the anti-smuggling drive of the Customs bureau.
Representatives from the Philippine Navy, Philippine Marines (MBLT-11), Philippine Coast Guard, Naval Intelligence Support Group, PNP Zamboanga City, Philippine Ports Authority, National Bureau of Investigation, PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Bureau of Fire and Protection, PNP Maritime Group and PNP Region 9 assisted in the destruction of the smuggled cigarettes. (Betheena Unite)
