By John Myers Jr., Staff ReporterLIQUOR AND cigarettes valued at millions of dollars have emerged as two of the more popular items of contraband coming through the ports this Christmas season.
The Revenue Protection Division (RPD) meantime has intensified surveillance at the island's ports, in an effort to clamp down on the illegal importation of goods, and has managed to confiscate some.
Mike Surridge, head of the RPD, said his agency is on high alert and has security measures in place to detect smuggled items during the holiday period when the attempts seem to intensify. He said the illicit goods are worth in excess of $2 billion annually.
"There has been a serious smuggling of cigarettes. We have detected a lot of it. We have seized an awful lot of cigarettes across the island," Mr. Surridge told The Gleaner.
He said the cigarettes were mostly imported from the United States and, to a lesser extent, from Europe. He explained that cigarettes are normally smuggled into the country in containers with wrong labels or hidden among other goods.
Additionally, the RPD is also grappling with the "very serious smuggling of wines and spirits," said Surridge, but has also made arrests and seized some of the contraband.
He said this is normally done by higglers who import the goods in consignments.
While declining to disclose the value of the seizures or give an assessment of the illegal imports because of what Mr. Surridge said was Government policy, the RPD head said the last consignment of liquor seized was worth about US$200,000.
These liquors, he said, are from top of the line bottlers and include wines, champagne, brandy and scotch.
Records from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) have shown that local production of cigarettes has been on the decline, while imports have been increasing.
"Unfortunately, smuggling and false invoicing are having a very serious impact on business in this country," Mr. Surridge noted, adding that the activity was not limited to individuals and small business operators.
"A lot of companies who you would expect to behave better, do it and they try to justify what they do by saying the tax is high," Mr. Surridge said.
Persons or companies who are detected trying to import goods illegally, usually opt for a financial settlement with the RPD, based on the value of the confiscated goods.
"When we fine people, what we do (as allowed) under the Customs Act... they have the right to elect for a mitigative penalty which is up to three times the value of the duty evaded."
