Manila, March 3 -- About PHP1.8 billion worth of smuggled cigarettes and manufacturing materials and PHP760 million of illegal drugs have been confiscated as of March 2, Bureau of Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno said.

A major interdiction was carried out on Feb. 9 with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), leading to the interception of a shipment at the Manila International Container Port containing an estimated PHP272 million worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) misdeclared as "marble."

The operation marks the largest drug haul recorded by the bureau so far this year.

The BOC also seized PHP634.858 million in smuggled cigarettes across Western Mindanao and Zamboanga City - the largest single-day cigarette-rel...