AUTHORITIES seized some P855,680 worth of smuggled cigarettes as they arrested a 51-year-old individual in a law enforcement operation in General Santos City, the police said Friday, August 21, 2026.
Police Brigadier General Alan Manibog, Police Regional Office-Soccsksargen director, identified the arrested individual as alias Al, a resident of Bulaong Avenue, Labangal village, General Santos City.
Manibog said Al was arrested following a brief chase around 2:10 p.m. Thursday, August 20, along the national highway in Sinawal village, General Santos City.
Manibog said the brief chase ensued after Al made a sudden U-turn when the operatives flagged down a minivan for traffic violations, including obstruction, a heavily tinted windshield, and disregarding a traffic officer, during a checkpoint operation.
He said the police personnel discovered 20 master cases of undocumented cigarettes while conducting the necessary documentation and technical inventory of the vehicle.
He said the driver and possessor were placed under arrest after a representative from the Bureau of Customs confirmed that the cigarettes were smuggled into the country.
He said a case for violation of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act is being prepared against the arrested suspect. (SunStar Zamboanga)