P50M worth of smuggled cigarettes seized in Mindanao

Authorities have confiscated more than P50 million worth of alleged smuggled cigarettes in three separate anti-smuggling operations conducted in Zamboanga City and Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental, the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported on Monday.

In a press briefing at Camp Crame, PNP Public Information Office chief Police Brigadier General Randulf Tuaño said the biggest haul occurred on September 12, when members of the Zamboanga City Mobile Force Company discovered an abandoned boat near Sacol and Manalipa Islands. 

“Nasamsam dito ang 445 na kaha ng Fort cigarettes na tinatayang nagkakahalaga ng P25,498,500 (Seized were 445 boxes of Fort cigarettes, with an estimated value of P25,498,500),” Tuaño told reporters. 

The recovered contraband has since been turned over to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in Zamboanga City.

Just a day earlier, on September 11, another 282 boxes of smuggled cigarettes, with estimated to be worth P16.16 million, were found inside a truck in Zamboanga City. 

Two individuals were arrested in the operation, including a 43-year-old police officer and a 55-year-old driver. Both are now in the custody of the Zamboanga City Police Station.

Meanwhile, a joint operation in Barangay Mauswagon, Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental, led to the seizure of hundreds more boxes of illicit cigarettes valued at P9.2 million on September 10. These have also been handed over to the BOC. 

Authorities have yet to apprehend the alleged distributor and transporter involved in the Misamis Oriental shipment, who remain at large as of the time of this writing.

The PNP said these operations form part of their intensified crackdown on smuggling and illicit trade, which continues to thrive in certain regions of Mindanao.