By Teofilo Garcia, Jr.
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Alert police officers seized about PHP3.2 million worth of smuggled cigarettes after a chase in Lanao del Norte province early Thursday.
Col. Leo De Leon Sua, provincial police director, said the smuggled cigarettes were seized at about 1:30 a.m. in Barangay Pandanan, Sultan Naga Dimaporo town.
Sua said that the personnel of the 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company (PMFC) flagged down a truck for inspection because of a broken windshield, which was clearly visible, during a routine road checkpoint in the village before discovering the truck’s concealed smuggled items.
Vehicles with a broken windshield are impoundable under Republic Act 4136, known as the Land Transportation and Traffic Code of the Philippines.
“However, instead of complying, the driver accelerated and breached the checkpoint, prompting policemen to immediately initiate a hot pursuit operation,” Sua said in his report.
He stated that the pursuing police eventually found the vehicle abandoned by the driver off the roadside, a few kilometers away from their checkpoint in the same village.
Upon inspection, the abandoned vehicle was found carrying 80 master cases of illicit cigarettes with an estimated market value of PHP3.2 million based on the Bureau of Customs (BOC) valuation of PHP40,000 per case.
Sua said the confiscated cigarettes and vehicle are currently in the custody of the 2nd PMFC pending formal turnover to the BOC.
An investigation is ongoing to determine the ownership of the confiscated smuggled cigarettes. (PNA)
