PAGADIAN CITY – Smuggling continues to proliferate in the country and it ultimately challenges the Duterte administration’s vision to eradicate illegal drugs, corruption in government, as well as these smuggling activities.
As this developed, the Philippine National Police’s (PNPs) regional office in Pagadian City intercepted and seized on Tuesday evening smuggled cigarettes that smugglers were trying to sell in Mindanao.
Brigadier General Ronaldo Genaro Ylagan, PRO-9 regional director identified the suspects as David Batu-on Franco, driver and Michael Bryan Tagaytay, his assistant.
Investigation disclosed that while the policemen were conducting a checkpoint in Barangay Baloyboan, this city, they intercepted a wing van truck around 8:45 p.m. loaded with the smuggled cigarettes.
The suspects Franco and Tagaytay, report said, have failed to present pertinent documents that would prove the legality of the cigarettes. The wing van was loaded with 115 master cases of cigarettes consisting of 91 master cases of Fort and 24 master cases of New Berlin with a market value of PHP1,160,000.
The policemen confiscated all the shipment, with an estimated market value of P1.2-million, and arrested the truck driver and his assistant.
Ilagan said the suspects are now in the custody of the Pagadian City Police Station, awaiting the filing of smuggling charges against them. – (PNA)
Gov’t seized P1.2-M contraband cigarettes in Pagadian City
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