COTABATO CITY — Policemen foiled on Monday an attempt by couriers to deliver P17 million worth of imported cigarettes to retailers in different towns in Maguindanao del Norte and in Cotabato City, both in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The truck loaded with Indonesian-made cigarettes was stopped, after a brief chase, at Barangay Nituan in Parang, Maguindanao del Norte by personnel of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR).
Policemen, barangay and municipal officials found 300 large boxes containing different brands of smuggled cigarettes, costing P17 million, neatly piled at the cargo deck of the van-type truck. The boxes are now in the custody of PRO-BAR and will be turned over to the Bureau of Customs for proper disposition.
Police Captain Steffi P. Salanguit, spokesperson of PRO-BAR, told reporters on Tuesday that the driver of the truck initially refused to stop at an anti-smuggling checkpoint in the municipality, but was eventually flagged down by policemen with the help of barangay and municipal officials.
Ms. Salanguit said the driver is now detained and will be prosecuted for the foiled smuggling attempt and for disrespect of the policemen at the anti-smuggling checkpoint whom he tried to ram as he drove away. — John Felix M. Unson