P50-M smuggled cigarettes intercepted

Authorities have confiscated more than P50 million worth of smuggled cigarettes in three separate operations in Zamboanga City and Misamis Oriental, the Philippine National Police (PNP) announced Monday.

The operations, conducted over a three-day period, are part of the PNP’s intensified crackdown on illicit trade in the Mindanao region.

PNP Public Information Office chief Police Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño said in a press briefing that the largest seizure occurred on 12 September, when members of the Zamboanga City Mobile Force Company discovered an abandoned boat near Sacol and Manalipa Islands.

Authorities recovered 445 boxes of Fort cigarettes, with an estimated value of P25.5 million.

The day before, on 11 September, Zamboanga City police found 282 boxes of smuggled cigarettes worth approximately P16.2 million inside a truck. A 43-year-old police officer and a 55-year-old driver were arrested in the operation and are in police custody.

In a separate joint operation on 10 September, hundreds of boxes of illicit cigarettes valued at P9.2 million were seized in Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental. The individuals involved in transporting the shipment remain at large.