P630,000 worth of imported cigarettes seized
COTABATO CITY — Police seized P630,000 worth of cigarettes from Indonesia in separate operations in Maguindanao del Norte province in the past two days.
Brig. Gen. Prexy D. Tanggawohn, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, said on Wednesday that policemen foiled last Monday an attempt by seafarers to deliver a haul of the imported cigarettes to Barangay Simuay Seashore in Sultan Mastura town.
The said the P450,000 worth of Indonesia-brand cigarettes were shipped to the area from either Tawi-Tawi or Sulu.
“Obviously it was to be delivered to buyers in the municipality and nearby areas,” Mr. Tanggawohn said.
The night before, police in nearby Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte intercepted P180,000 worth of cigarettes of the same brands from Indonesia in Barangay Ungap.
Members of the Sultan Kudarat police who seized the contraband spotted three of the men watching over the illegal shipment, but they eluded arrest.
Mr. Tanggawohn said he has directed the municipal police chiefs in Sultan Mastura and Sultan Kudarat to turn over the confiscated cigarettes to the office of the Bureau of Customs in Cotabato City for proper disposition. — John Felix M. Unson