The Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) on Wednesday said it is consolidating evidence to ensure an airtight case against all individuals involved in the smuggling of P1.1 billion worth of cigarettes seized in Batangas City in late December last year.

PNP-HPG spokesperson Nadame Malang said authorities are working to build cases that can withstand court scrutiny and lead to convictions, in line with the national government’s intensified anti-smuggling drive.

“We are still waiting for other documents from other agencies,” Malang said.

Among those expected to face charges are a female personnel of the Bureau of Customs (BoC) assigned at the Batangas Port and her husband, who owns the trucks that yielded 14 container vans of cigarettes believed to have been smuggled into the country.

PNP-HPG Director Hansel Marantan earlier disclosed the alleged involvement of the BoC personnel after investigators found that her husband owns a trucking service company possibly linked to the smuggling operation.

The contraband cigarettes were discovered when PNP-HPG operatives were tracking a stolen vehicle. The container vans were later found inside a compound in Balete, Batangas City, on December 31.

“We were able to confiscate illicit cigarettes there in Batangas. We have identified personalities, and you will see that when we file the case. Unfortunately, there’s an involvement of the trucker. The trucker’s wife is a member of the BoC,” Marantan said in an earlier interview.

One of the charges being considered is a violation of Republic Act No. 12022, or the Anti-Agricultural Sabotage Act, which seeks to curb hoarding, profiteering, and cartel activities that restrict supply, manipulate prices, and deprive the government of much-needed tax revenues.

The anti-smuggling operations come amid persistent allegations of corruption within the BoC. Earlier, BoC Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno dismissed the chief of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service at the Port of Manila, Intelligence Officer III Paul Oliver Pacunayen.

Pacunayen, along with CIIS Director Thomas Narcise, was among the officials named in a letter sent to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on December 11 last year by customs officials, employees, and stakeholders. The letter also mentioned a customs broker previously identified in a Senate report as a major agricultural smuggler operating at the Port of Subic, Manila International Container Port, Port of Manila, Port of Batangas, and Port of Cebu.