A SERIES of operations conducted by the Bureau of Customs (BoC) this week led to the discovery of P1.944 billion worth of dried tobacco, fake goods, used clothing, and other items in several warehouses in Bulacan province.
BoC’s Manila International Container Port-Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (MICP-CIIS) led the operations in several warehouses in Guiguinto town, with the support from the Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
“Big operations like these take a lot of time and resources, but as a testament to the enduring commitment of our officers, we were able to inspect many warehouses in three days and come up with a staggering amount of smuggled goods being stored there,” BoC Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said.
Inspection of the first warehouse yielded suspected smuggled used clothing, used shoes, intellectual property rights infringing goods, branded bags, toys, electric fans, wireless speakers, steel sheets, plastic resin, housewares, kitchenwares, and other general merchandise items.
CIIS Director Verne Enciso said the items were worth of P1.25 billion.
Meanwhile, the second warehouse yielded sacks of dried tobacco and cigarette filter rods that can make P694.4 million worth of 6,944 mastercases of cigarettes.
“Initially, the warehouse was closed when the team returned on November 8. There was also no representative to acknowledge the Letter of Authority (LoA). But with the barangay and compound representatives present, the team entered the warehouse and found raw materials to make tobacco,” Enciso said.
Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Group Juvymax Uy said that the warehouse owners and operators were given 15 days from the service of the LoA to submit documents to show that the subject imported goods were legitimately imported and that correct duties and taxes were duly paid for.
“An operation can only be truly successful if we are able to file and pursue cases against these individuals and organizations. For that to happen, we make sure to follow the proper rules and procedures, including the courtesy we extend to the owners of these goods to provide us proof that they did not enter the country illegally,” he said, adding that failure to present the proper documents will lead to charges.
They will also face charges in accordance with Republic Act 8293, otherwise known as the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines and Republic Act 10963, or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion.
Furthermore, the BoC will also be filing economic sabotage complaints against the owners of the smuggled dried tobacco products.
High-grade marijuana
Meanwhile, in two separate operations this month, the BoC Port of Clark seized a total of 2,572 grams of high-grade marijuana, commonly known as Kush, with a street value of P3.858 million.
In the first operation, Rubio said that BoC-Clark intercepted a shipment containing 2,100 grams of marijuana, valued at P3.150 million.
The shipment, labeled as a “4Seasons Camping Sleeping Bag,” arrived on Oct. 21, 2024. It was flagged by the BoC’s X-ray Inspection Project (XIP) after suspicious images were detected.
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