THE Philippine National Police (PNP) Highway Patrol Group (HPG) apprehended an estimated P20 million worth of smuggled cigarettes in Negros Oriental.
In a press conference Monday, October 13, 2025, HPG acting director Police Colonel Hansel Marantan said that during an intelligence-driven operation on Saturday, October 11, 2025, personnel of the Regional Highway Patrol Unit–Negros Island Region (RHPU-NIR), in coordination with other law enforcement units, confiscated an abandoned truck in Barangay Nagbola-ao, Basay town, loaded with master cases of suspected untaxed cigarettes worth around P20 million.
“During the surveillance and interdiction phase, operatives observed several unidentified individuals loading the cigarettes onto the truck. Sensing police presence, the suspects fled, abandoning the vehicle and illegal cargo. The recovered goods and vehicle are being transported to the RHPU-NIR headquarters for inventory and legal processing in coordination with the Bureau of Internal Revenue,” said Marantan.
Charges for violating Republic Act 12022, or the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, and Republic Act 8424, also known as the National Internal Revenue Code, will be filed against the owner of the truck.
Marantan said the HPG, along with other concerned PNP units, is pursuing syndicates involved in cigarette smuggling.
“This successful operation is a major blow against smuggling syndicates that deprive the government of revenue and fund criminal activities. The PNP-HPG stands firm with the BIR and other agencies in shutting down the illegal trade of untaxed goods,” he said.
“Let me be clear: smuggling is not just theft from the government — it is funding for criminal syndicates, and we will go after those who profit from it,” he added.
The operation is part of the PNP’s intensified campaign against smuggling and economic sabotage. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)