Importer tries to smuggle second time around

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Seized smuggled brand cigarettes at the Port of Cebu | Photo from BOC-Cebu
Seized smuggled FarStar brand cigarettes at the Port of Cebu | Photo from BOC-Cebu

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) Port of Cebu has seized anew smuggled cigarettes from China worth P92 million and consigned to the same importer that was also the consignee of a misdeclared shipment apprehended just a few days earlier.

The second set of smuggled items was found in two separate shipments from China that arrived at the Port of Cebu on August 19. The shipments, consigned to GRR Trading, were declared in the manifest to contain umbrellas, tables, cabinets, and chairs.

“Apparently, the modus operandi of the importer is blatant misdeclaration,” BOC Enforcement and Security Services-Port of Cebu commander Jerry M. Arizabal said in a statement.

Both shipments were flagged following a previous similar apprehension of a misdeclared shipment of cigarettes.

Three days prior, the misdeclared shipment consigned to the same importer had arrived at the port and confiscated after a 100% physical examination yielded 1,092 master cases of Astro brand cigarettes worth P54.6 million. The declaration in the manifest said the container was loaded with drawers, tables, cabinets, and lockers.

Arizabal immediately requested an x-ray inspection of the two new shipments after these got flagged. When x-ray scanning showed suspicious illegal images, he and X-Ray Inspection Project field officer Carlos Joey S. Reyes recommended the issuance of pre-lodgement control orders against the shipments.

A 100% physical examination revealed 900 master cases of Jackpot brand cigarettes and 939 master cases of Farstar brand cigarettes.

Warrants of seizure and detention were issued against the shipments for violation of relevant sections of Republic Act No. 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.

BOC Cebu district collector Charlito Martin Mendoza warned erring importers who violate and disregard the country’s customs laws that not only will BOC seize their shipments, but it will also revoke their accreditation and file legal cases against them.

Last June, BOC Cebu inaugurated a new portal x-ray machine at the Cebu International Port, a boost to the port’s anti-smuggling drive.