BARMM cops seize P5-M smuggled cigarettes

COTABATO CITY — Policemen seized P5 million worth of imported cigarettes in two separate operations in Basilan and Maguindanao del Norte provinces in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on Saturday.

Brig. Gen. Jaysen C. De Guzman, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR), told reporters on Monday that operatives from different PRO-BAR units intercepted on Saturday morning a dump truck loaded with P1.2 million worth of cigarettes from Indonesia in a stretch of the Narciso Ramos Highway in Parang, Maguindanao del Norte.

The driver of the dump truck carrying more than 40 boxes of smuggled cigarettes had assured officials of PRO-BAR to identify the smuggler who paid him to deliver the contraband to cigarette dealers in different towns in Maguindanao del Norte.

Another group of policemen also seized on Saturday P3.8 million worth of imported cigarettes piled at one spot in Sitio Kayuh Poteh in Barangay Maganda in Lamitan City in Basilan.

Lt. Col. Elmer P. Solon, Lamitan City police chief, said on Monday that unidentified men were waiting for vehicles from outside of Barangay Maganda to fetch and deliver the smuggled cigarettes to stores in different towns in Basilan.

Mr. Solon and Mr. De Guzman separately told reporters that personnel of the Lamitan City Police Station launched the anti-smuggling operations that resulted in the confiscation of 67 large boxes of cigarettes with Indonesian brands after residents of Sitio Kayuh Poteh reported the supposed smuggling attempt, enabling them to prevent it promptly.

The three men who were watching over the P3.8 million worth of cigarettes escaped when they sensed that policemen were approaching their location in Sitio Kayuh Poteh from two directions.

Mr. De Guzman said they will immediately turn over the confiscated smuggled cigarettes to the Bureau of Customs for its proper disposition. — John Felix M. Unson