AUTHORITIES have arrested a policeman and a businessman after they intercepted a shipment of some P1.8 million worth of smuggled cigarettes in the province of Zamboanga del Norte, an official said Saturday, August 1, 2026.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Verzon, Zamboanga del Norte 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company commander, said the suspects include a 34-year-old policeman assigned at Zamboanga City Police Station 10 and a 36-year-old businessman from Tumaga village, Zamboanga City.
Verzon said they were arrested around 10:05 p.m. Friday, July 31, in Gatas village, Kalawit, Zamboanga del Norte.
Verzon said the personnel of the mobile force company’s Second Platoon, together with other law enforcement unit, flagged down a light commercial vehicle while conducting a checkpoint operation in Gatas village.
He said the operatives pursued and intercepted the vehicle several hundred meters away as the driver accelerated and attempted to evade inspection.
He said that upon inspection, the operatives discovered the vehicle was carrying 1,630 reams of smuggled cigarettes with a market value of P1,867,980 based on the assessment of the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
He said the operatives also confiscated a 9-millimeter pistol with three magazines and 35 live rounds from the businessman, who was also the driver of the vehicle.
The two suspects, along with the confiscated items, were turned over to the Kalawit Municipal Police Station for proper disposition.
Verzon said that charges for violations of Article 151 of the Revised Penal Code and the Graphic Health Warnings Law will be filed against the arrested policeman and businessman. (SunStar Zamboanga)