BOC ramps up anti-drug drive; 16 kilos shabu seized

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC), continues with its successful partnership with other government agencies in the campaign against illegal drugs that resulted to the confiscation of some 16 kilos of “shabu” with an aggregate value of more than P109 million from two separate anti-drug operations last April 12, 2022.

Alvin Enciso, head of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) at the Manila International Container Port (MICP), in a report to Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence (DCI) Ranier Ramiro and BOC chief, Rey Leonardo Guerrero, said the joint “buy-bust” operation with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Quezon City resulted to the confiscation of some 12 kilos of shabu worth P81.6 million.

A male suspect, whose name was not disclosed, was also arrested and is now under further investigation and custody by the PDEA, Enciso added.

The suspect, however, has been identified as a “known drug distributor in the National Ca;ital Region (NCR) NCR and other nearby provinces in Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog.

Also recovered from the suspect was a black-colored backpack and the ‘boodle’ (buy-bust) money amounting to P1 million.

On the same day at the Port of Clark, district collector Alexandra Lumontad, reported to Guerrero the successful conclusion of a ‘controlled delivery operation’ involving 4 kilos of shabu that arrived from New Delhi, India, inside a shipment of “kid blankets.”

Lumontad said the operation ended at the doorstep of the recipient in Trece Martires City, Cavite.

Unknown to the suspect, who was also arrested but was not identified in the report, the shipment had already undergone close scrutiny by Clark customs personnel that led the illegal drugs’ discovery prior to its release.

Lumontad said the seized illegal drugs had been valued at P27.6 million.

‘FMP’ yields P60.15 billion added revenue in Q1

Meanwhile, the government’s ‘Fuel Marking Program’ (FMP) continues to yield success with more than P60.15 billion in additional revenue for the government for the first quarter of the year.

Official data showed that for the same period, some 4.724 billion liters have been marked by the BOC and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Since the start of the FMP in 2019 up to March 2022, the government has thus far marked some 39.316 billion liters equivalent to P374.13 billion in duties and taxes.

Diesel comprises 60.51 percent of the total volume marked, followed by Gasoline with 38.97 percent and kerosene with 0.52 percent of marked volume.

As to location, 73.66 percent of the marking was done in Luzon, 20.9 percent in Mindanao, and 5.44 percent in the Visayas.

The BOC added that already, 28 oil firms are covered by the FMP.

Also aligned with the program, the BOC and the BIR seized a total of 93,043.80 liters of diesel, 18,839.00 liters of kerosene, and seized two tanker trucks carrying unmarked fuel with an estimated value of ₱13,357,405.29.

Tanks of 12 retail stations and 2 private companies found containing unmarked fuels were likewise sealed and recommended to be slapped with criminal cases.

The FMP aims to raise revenues for the government while curbing fuel smuggling and leveling the playing field in the Philippine oil industry.