P1.6-M cigarettes seized in Lanao

COTABATO CITY — Police in Lanao del Sur seized P1.6 million worth of Indonesian cigarettes from two couriers at a checkpoint in the village of Bual, Picong before dawn on Tuesday.

The suspects were now in Picong Municipal Police custody undergoing interrogation. Authorities also impounded their Mitsubishi L300 van, which was loaded with 2,150 reams of cigarettes.

Police said the vehicle was flagged for a routine inspection but was immediately held when the contraband was discovered. The suspects told investigators they were tasked with delivering the cigarettes to contacts in Malabang and other nearby towns.

Brigadier General Jaysen C. De Guzman, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, said the pair promised to identify the bigger smuggling network to help authorities prosecute those involved.

The confiscated cigarettes will be turned over to the Bureau of Customs for proper disposition. — John Felix M. Unson