P15-M smuggled cigarettes seized

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Police authorities intercepted two cargo trucks loaded with 515 master cases of assorted brands of smuggled cigarettes worth about P15 million and placed under technical arrest the two drivers of the two cargo trucks and a truck cargo helper.

Police Regional Office — Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO BAR) Acting Director P/Brig. Gen. Prexy D. Tanggawohn said yesterday policemen while conducting a checkpoint in Barangay Sarmiento, Parang, Maguindanao del Norte intercepted the contraband at about 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Tanggawohn said the police were responding to a tip from a concerned citizen that two cargo trucks — an eight-wheeler aluminum van with plate number CBN 9705 and an ISUZU ELF with plate number KAS 7603 loaded with 515 master cases of smuggled worth P14,620,500 — would be passing by the area anytime on Sunday.

Acting firmly on the report, the police were able to intercept the two trucks loaded with smuggled cigarettes which were about to be delivered to nearby towns in Maguindanao del Norte.

Tanggawohn declined to identify the two drivers and the cargo helper.

Loaded from an Isuzu Elf cargo truck were 33 master cases of Harvey brand and two boxes of Greenhill brand smuggled cigarettes with a combined total of P940,500.

Loaded from a 10-wheeler cargo truck were 480 master cases of Greenhill brand smuggled cigarettes valued at P13.68 million.

Tanggawohn said the three arrested suspects were informed of their rights in both Tagalog and Bisaya dialects, ensuring that they fully understood the violation they committed.

The three, along with the seized vehicles and smuggled cigarettes, are now under the custody of the Parang Municipal Police Station.

Coordination with the Bureau of Customs is ongoing for the proper disposition and filing of charges.

“This operation highlights the dedication of our local law enforcement to combating smuggling and upholding the rule of law in our community,” Tanggawohn said.