Ben Madilynn
AUTHORITIES have seized around P2.48 million worth of smuggled cigarettes and arrested one suspect in two separate operations in Lanao del Norte on September 9, 2024.
The Police Regional Office – Northern Mindanao (PRO-10), the Lanao del Norte Polic Provincial Office arrested a certain “Jomar,” a 47-year-old driver from Zamboanga City during a checkpoint in Puro-1, Bansarvil 1 in Kapatagan town at around 11:10 a.m. on September 9, 2024.
According to the police, during their inspection, unboxed cases of cigarettes were visible through the vehicle’s rear window.
The police confiscated 950 reams of cigarettes which were all lacking the required BIR stamps and graphic health warnings.The items were valued at P760,000.
The confiscated items, the vehicle and the driver were brought to the Kapatagan Municipal Police Station for documentation and proper disposition.
On the same day, at around 3:30 p.m., the police responded to a tip from a concerned citizen about abandoned boxes of smuggled cigarettes along the national highway in Barangay Sugod, Sultan Naga Dimaporo, this province. Recovered from the area were 34 boxes of various brands of cigarettes, and one sack containing assorted packs and reams of cigarettes. The items were valued at a total of P1.72 million.
All confiscated cigarettes will be turned over to the Bureau of Customs Sub-Port of Iligan for further legal action. (Jo Ann Saplad/SunStar Philippines)
