MANILA: Revenue officials raided two warehouses in Bulacan and found P3.2 billion worth of Mighty Corporation cigarettes with fake tax stamps.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC), in coordination with the Bureau of Internal Revenue, (BIR), local police, and barangay officials, raided the warehouses in Barangay Matimbubong in San Ildefonso town after receiving a tip that the facilities stored cigarettes with fake stamps.
The raid was made two days after the government filed a P9.65-billion tax evasion case against Mighty.
Around 160,000 master cases of Mighty cigarettes were found in the two warehouses, according to Captain Joenel Pogoy, Customs officer.
The first warehouse had 145,000 master cases of cigarettes, with an estimated value of P2.9 billion; the second had 15,000 master cases worth around P300 million, the BOC said in a statement.
Using the BIR stamp verifier, the team confirmed that the cigarettes had been marked with fake tax stamps.
The BOC and BIR had earlier conducted raids on Mighty’s warehouses in parts of the country, including in San Isidro, Pampang, where they found billions of pesos worth of cigarettes with fake stamps.
Mighty had promised to cooperate with the government and maintained it did not violate any laws.
