BACOLOD CITY — The Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region sustained its campaign against illicit cigarettes following another interception of smuggled cigarettes worth PHP 1.65 million in Barangay Pahanocoy recently.
The operation was carried out by Police Station 8, with the assistance of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit, and resulted in the arrest of alias “Jun,” 56, a helper and resident of Barangay 3, Victorias City, Negros Occidental.
PRO-NIR reported that a group of individuals was observed unloading suspicious boxes from a bus and transferring them to a white Toyota Hi-Ace van, prompting immediate verification.
When authorities approached, the individuals abruptly dispersed and fled the area aboard a red Toyota Hi-Lux.
One individual, however, who was actively loading the boxes at the time, remained at the scene and yielded to authorities, turning over the boxes and the van to responding personnel.
Authorities recovered 33 boxes of New Mega Menthol cigarettes, each containing 25 reams, for a total of 825 reams of illicit tobacco products without the required tax stamps.
The regional office said the interception not only prevented the circulation of untaxed tobacco products but also disrupted a potential distribution network.
The seizure followed the discovery on Tuesday of a warehouse in Barangay Alijis here that was reportedly being used to store raw materials for illicit cigarette production.
That operation was linked to an inspection of a trading firm in Barangay Calumangan, Bago City, Negros Occidental, where nine Chinese nationals and four Filipinos were arrested after authorities found three loader machines, three packaging machines, and assorted paraphernalia allegedly used in the manufacture of illegal cigarettes.
Before that, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group also seized PHP 1.22 million worth of illicit cigarettes and arrested three persons in Barangay Pahanocoy here on Tuesday, while police arrested two individuals and seized PHP 1.9 million worth of smuggled cigarettes in Victorias City, Negros Occidental, on Monday.
PRO-NIR earlier reported that PHP 138.5 million worth of illicit cigarettes had been seized and 12 persons had been arrested for cigarette smuggling across Negros Island over two weeks.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue requires cigarette packs for sale in the Philippines to carry internal revenue stamps, which authorities use to detect untaxed tobacco products. (Glazyl M. Jopson via tdg photo by tdg)