BACOLOD City — More than P10 million worth of suspected illicit and smuggled cigarettes were seized, and one suspect was arrested during a joint law enforcement operation in Sitio Batang, Barangay Talaban, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, on September 28.
The operation, conducted at around 2:55 a.m., was led by the Regional Intelligence Division of the Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR), in coordination with several police units and other law enforcement agencies.
Authorities arrested a suspect identified only as alias “Omar,” while two other suspects, known as “Jun” and “Jake,” reportedly escaped and remain at large. All three are reportedly from Jolo, Sulu.
Confiscated during the operation were 63 master cases of D&B cigarettes, 74 boxes of D&B cigarettes containing 25 reams each, 25 master cases of YS Menthol cigarettes, and 102 boxes of YS Red cigarettes containing 25 reams each.
The seized tobacco products have an estimated value of P10.2 million.
According to PRO-NIR, the cigarettes allegedly lacked the necessary government permits and appeared to have no prescribed graphic health warnings.
Authorities are pursuing appropriate charges for possible violations of Republic Act (RA) No. 10643, or the Graphic Health Warnings Law, and RA No. 12022, or the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, subject to further investigation and determination by the proper authorities.
RA 10643 requires prescribed graphic health warnings on covered tobacco products, while RA 12022 includes tobacco among the agricultural products covered by the law and penalizes agricultural smuggling under specified circumstances.
Omar is currently detained at the Himamaylan City Police Station, while the confiscated cigarettes have been temporarily secured pending turnover to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for examination and proper disposition.
PRO-NIR director Brigadier General Rudecindo Reales commended the participating units and partner agencies for the successful operation, emphasizing the importance of coordinated and intelligence-driven law enforcement in combating illicit trade.
Reales also warned that anti-smuggling operations would be intensified across the Negros Island Region.
The operation involved personnel from the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office, BOC, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Regional Forensic Unit-NIR, Regional Highway Patrol Unit-NIR, 4th Special Operations Unit-Maritime Group, Regional Intelligence Unit-NIR, Provincial Intelligence Unit-Negros Occidental, Coast Guard-NIR, and Himamaylan City Police Station.
Meanwhile, authorities are continuing their pursuit of the two remaining suspects as the investigation into the seized cigarette shipment continues./PN
