Tobacco.org

• Philippines a haven for cigarette smugglers 

(First of two parts) . . .

Fisherman Lino Bocalan became legend in the 1950s to 1960s after he chanced upon an alternative and more lucrative profession: cigarette smuggling. . . .

Before long, Bocalan built a fortune and a name in an industry that grew in Tanza, aided in part by the presence of Sangley Point, a former American base where blue-seal cigarettes were sold and taken out from its commissary. He eventually traded directly with Borneo, cut the southern connection, and became a millionaire.

Decades later, the Tanza cottage industry has evolved into a lucrative national, and even a global, industry. The southern backdoor, where traders of smuggled cigarettes used to taunt law enforcers, has become an outmoded entry point. Smugglers have become more brazen, preferring direct payoffs to willing takers. . . .

There are only five major players in this highly protected industry. Lucio Tan’s Fortune Tobacco and Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing Inc. corner over 90 percent of the local market. The smaller players include Mighty Corp., La Suerte Cigar & Cigarette Factory, and Associated Anglo-American Tobacco Corp. . . .

International organizations and groups working to stop the tobacco black market and curb cigarette smoking are sounding alarm bells because the illegal trade is believed to finance criminal syndicates that engage in drugs, trafficking, terrorism, and money laundering.

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