KATUWANG ang Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), nasabat ng Bureau of Customs ang dalawang 40-footer container van na naglalaman ng smuggled cigarettes na nagkakahalaga ng P160 million sa Mindanao Container Terminal Port, PHIVIDEC Compound, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental .
Sa ulat na ipinarating sa tanggapan ni BOC Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz, napigilan ng Bureau of Customs (BOC)-Port of Cagayan de Oro ang tangkang pagpuslit ng dalawang containers ng sigarilyo.
Ayon kay District Collector Alexandra Yap-Lumontad sinailalim nila sa spot-check examination ang nasabing shipment sa tulong ng PDEA sa pangambang may kasamang iligal na droga ang nasabing kargamento sa Mindanao Container Terminal Port, PHIVIDEC Compound .
Tumambad sa mga operatiba na naglalaman ng “New Berlin” cigarettes na umaabot sa 2,000 master cases ang sinabat na shipment mula China na deneklarang mga “personal effects.”
Agad na naglabas ng Warrants of Seizure and Detention (WSD) ang Cagayan de Oro District port para sa smuggled ‘Berlin’ cigarettes base sa ginawang misdeclaration.
Sumailalim sa pagsusuri ng assigned customs examiner, BOC officials at Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency 10, at Chamber of Customs Brokers Inc. representative ang nasabing kontrabando.
“The shipments underwent examination after a joint request from Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS CDO and Surigao Field Station) led by lawyer Justin Geli and Enforcement and Security Service CDO (ESS CDO) led by S.P./Capt. Abdila Maulana Jr. ,” ayon sa ulat na isinumite sa tanggapan ni Comm Ruiz.
Nag-isyu si District Collector Alexandra Yap-Lumontad ng Pre-Lodgement Control Order (PLCO) laban sa kargamento dahil sa maaring paglabag nito sa Section 1400 ng Republic Act 10863, or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
The seizure was part of the port’s commitment to supporting the priority program of Customs Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz to protect national borders by curbing all forms of smuggling and was aligned with the directives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the Bureau of Customs, ayon kay Ms Cynthia Balana ng BOC. (VICTOR BALDEMOR RUIZ)
