₱1.4-BILLION SMUGGLED VAPE SHIPMENT DESTROYED IN BOC’S LARGEST SINGLE SEIZURE

MANILA, Philippines — More than ₱1.4 billion worth of illicit vape products were destroyed Thursday, October 1, after the Bureau of Customs (BOC) described the shipment as the largest single-operation seizure of smuggled vapes in the agency’s history.

A total of 3,174 boxes containing vape devices and pods under the brands Chillax, Black Bar, and Shift were condemned and destroyed. The products, valued at approximately ₱1.428 billion, had no visible Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) tax stamps, according to the BOC.

The shipment was seized in March 2026 during an operation at a warehouse in Manila led by the BOC’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Manila International Container Port, in coordination with the Philippine Coast Guard.

Following a 100% physical examination and inventory, the goods were placed under seizure proceedings and later covered by a Warrant of Seizure and Detention and Forfeiture Order, paving the way for their final condemnation and destruction.

To ensure the products could no longer be recovered, resold, or reused, the seized vapes were crushed using a roller compactor and sprayed with water.

BOC Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno said the destruction was intended not only to address potential losses in government revenue but also concerns over products entering the market without undergoing the required regulatory processes.

Representatives from the Department of Finance, Department of Trade and Industry, Commission on Audit, Bureau of Internal Revenue, and Philippine Coast Guard witnessed the destruction.

The BOC said the operation forms part of its continuing enforcement efforts against the illicit importation and sale of regulated vape products.