P4.1M Worth of Smuggled Cigarettes Seized in Southern Philippines Operations

Policemen seized a total of P4.1 million worth of smuggled cigarettes in separate anti-smuggling operations in Cotabato and Sarangani provinces in Region 12 within just two days. Police anti-smuggling operatives first intercepted on Thursday, July 23, in Barangay Sadaan in Midsayap, Cotabato, two vans loaded with large boxes containing Indonesian-made cigarettes, costing P2.8 million. The four couriers of the confiscated smuggled cigarettes, now detained, had confessed to police investigators, in the presence of municipal and barangay officials, that they were supposed to deliver the illegal merchandise, supplied by a smuggler based in one of the provinces in the Zamboanga peninsula, to retailers in Midsayap and nearby towns. Officials of the Cotabato Provincial Police Office and the Police Regional Office 12 separately told reporters on Sunday that personnel of the Midsayap Municipal Police Station and different PRO 12 units in the municipality had foiled the smuggling attempt based on tips about the shipment from local executives and legitimate cigarette dealers in the province. Another team of policemen, assisted by local executives, prevented on Friday an attempt by seafaring smugglers to distribute P1.3 million worth of smuggled cigarettes to contacts in seaside areas in Maasim town in Sarangani. The two small motorized wooden boats carrying the smuggled cigarettes that reportedly came from the island province of Tawi-Tawi in the Bangsamoro region were intercepted by seaborne law-enforcement operatives while approaching a beachfront area in Maasim, according to radio reports on Sunday. PRO-12’s director, Police Brig. Gen. Allan Manibog had confirmed that 22 large boxes of cigarettes with Indonesian brands, placed inside plastic sacks, were seized during the offshore anti-smuggling operation. Manibog said he is grateful to the local executives and the tipsters who helped prevent the distribution of the smuggled cigarettes in Maasim and nearby coastal towns in Sarangani province. These seizures are part of ongoing efforts to combat smuggling in the Philippines, particularly the illicit trade of tobacco products which can impact government revenue and public health. Investigations are expected to focus on uncovering the networks behind these smuggling operations.