2 nabbed for 'resale' of seized cigarettes; BOC vows heads will roll

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has arrested two individuals for their alleged involvement in the resale of P270 million worth of seized contraband cigarettes in Capas, Tarlac.

This developed as the Bureau of Customs (BOC) assured Sunday that "heads will roll" if reports are proven that some of its personnel are involved in the scheme.

The two arrested men were identified as employees of a disposal company contracted by the BOC to discard smuggled cigarettes that Customs agents earlier confiscated, according to a 24 Oras Weekend report by John Consulta.

The disposal company reportedly offered to sell the boxes of cigarettes to poseur buyers for P250 million. The BOC, however, noted that the contraband was worth P270 million.

In its statement, the BOC vowed to coordinate with the NBI regarding the investigation.

"I already instructed the Intelligence Group's Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service to look into this matter and report to me immediately. The NBI has our full cooperation and I promise that anyone found involved in this will be held accountable. Heads will roll," BOC Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said.

"If the investigation targets someone from our team, that's all the more reason we should work together with the NBI to get to the bottom of this and hold people accountable," he added.

The BOC said that out of the four containers of smuggled cigarettes, three were originally consigned to one company while the remaining container was consigned to another firm.

A separate waste disposal company was contracted by the BOC to get rid of the cigarettes, the Customs Bureau said.

The NBI has alleged that the environmental consultant of the disposal facility was the one looking for buyers of the goods, some of which were being offered online.

The arrested individuals will be facing cases in violation of Republic Act 12022 or the Anti-Agricultural Sabotage Act, and possibly other laws. — VDV, GMA Integrated News