LAWMEN have seized a shipment of P740,000 smuggled cigarettes in an anti-smuggling operation in the province of Sulu, the police said Tuesday, June 3, 2025.
Police Brigadier General Romeo Macapaz, Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR) director, said the shipment of smuggled cigarettes was seized on Sunday, June 1, in Sitio Barrio Militar, Walled City village, Jolo, Sulu.
Macapaz said the personnel from the Jolo Municipal Police Station were conducting routine mobile patrol when they chanced upon a multi-purpose utility vehicle suspected to be transporting smuggled goods.
"The team spotted a suspiciously parked vehicle along the roadside. Upon noticing the approaching police patrol, the driver fled, abandoning the vehicle," Macapaz said in a statement.
He said the policemen discovered the vehicle was loaded with 20 master cases of smuggled cigarettes worth P740,000.
He said no one claimed ownership of the vehicle or the contraband.
The confiscated smuggled cigarettes were taken to police station and will be turned over to the Bureau of Customs for examination and proper disposition. (SunStar Zamboanga)