AUTHORITIES have seized over P402,000 worth of smuggled cigarettes in an intelligence-driven law enforcement operation in Lanao del Sur, the police said Sunday, July 19, 2026.
Police Brigadier General Christopher Abecia, Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR) director, said the smuggled cigarettes were seized Friday, July 17, in Ilian village, Mulondo, Lanao del Sur.
Abecia said the operatives established a checkpoint after they received confidential information that an unregistered minivan would be transporting smuggled cigarettes through Ilian village.
The operatives pursued the minivan after the driver evaded the checkpoint and intercepted it about 400 meters away along the national highway towards Maguing town.
"Upon reaching the vehicle, officers found it abandoned, with its occupants having fled the scene," Abecia said in his report.
He said a subsequent search led to the confiscation of 470 reams of cigarettes with an estimated value of P402,169.60.
He said all seized items were properly marked, photographed, documented, and placed under the custody of Mulondo Municipal Police Station.
He added that investigation on ongoing to established the identity of the owner of the confiscated smuggled cigarettes. (SunStar Zamboanga)