CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Police in Northern Mindanao seized 2,602 reams of suspected smuggled cigarettes valued at P2,081,600 during an intelligence-driven checkpoint operation in Barangay Libertad, Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte, around 6:40 a.m. Tuesday.
The operation involved personnel from the 1st Provincial Mobile Force Company (PMFC) of the Lanao del Norte Police Provincial Office (LDNPPO), together with personnel from the Lanao del Norte Maritime Police Station (MARPSTA), 2nd PMFC, Provincial Intelligence Unit (PIU) LDN, Regional Intelligence Unit 10 (RIU 10), 1005th Maneuver Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 10 (RMFB 10), Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) LDN, 5th Mechanized Battalion of the Philippine Army and Kolambugan Municipal Police Station (MPS).
The operating personnel intercepted a green Isuzu Elf dropside truck and, during a consensual inspection, discovered cigarettes concealed inside iceboxes. The shipment consisted of 2,255 reams of Castorce and 347 reams of Cannon cigarettes.
The driver and three passengers, all residents of Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur, told police they had been hired to deliver the cargo to Opol, Misamis Oriental. According to their account, they believed the iceboxes contained fish, as they had previously been hired for similar deliveries. Their statements remain subject to verification.
The four individuals were brought to the Kolambugan MPS for documentation and processing before being referred to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for appropriate action. The truck and seized cigarettes remain in police custody pending turnover to the BOC.
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