By Edwin Fernandez
COTABATO CITY – Police officers in Matanog, Maguindanao del Norte, on Tuesday intercepted an attempt to smuggle PHP6.4 million worth of imported cigarettes hidden by two men inside a cement mixer truck.
Brig. Gen. Jaysen de Guzman, director of the Police Regional Office – Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR), said personnel from Matanog Municipal Police Station (MPS) were conducting a routine checkpoint on the national highway in Sitio Marayag, Barangay Bayanga Norte, at 9:30 a.m. when they noticed that the cement mixer truck driver and helper appeared restless.
“During a routine inspection, policemen from Matanog MPS, Regional Mobile Force Battalion 14A, and the provincial police office noticed several reams of cigarettes falling from the truck’s cement mixer drum,” de Guzman said in a report Wednesday.
Further inspection revealed additional boxes of Greenhill-brand imported cigarettes.
Police recovered 7,550 reams of imported cigarettes with an estimated market value of PHP6.4 million.
The cement mixer driver, Jubiri, 30, and his helper, Naji, 20, both residents of Zamboanga City, were arrested.
They told police that they transported the contraband from Zamboanga City to an undisclosed place in Cotabato City.
Also on Tuesday, police in Buldon, Maguindanao del Norte, also intercepted PHP256,000 worth of smuggled cigarettes in a vehicle during a law enforcement checkpoint operation in Barangay Dinganen at 3 p.m.
In North Cotabato province, police officers in Pigcawayan town also seized PHP760,000 worth of smuggled cigarettes on Tuesday while conducting a checkpoint operation in Barangay Central Panatan.
The suspect claimed he was transporting the contraband from Cotabato City to Bukidnon. (PNA)
