AUTHORITIES arrested an individual and seized some P1.8 million worth of smuggled cigarettes in an intelligence-driven law enforcement operation in the Bangsamoro province of Maguindanao del Norte, a top police official said Thursday, April 23, 2026.
Police Brigadier General Jaysen De Guzman, Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR) director, did not identify the subject except to say the arrested individual is a woman of legal age.
De Guzman said she was arrested in a buy-bust operation early Thursday, April 23, along the Narciso National Highway in Bugasan Norte village, Matanog, Maguindanao del Norte.
“The operation stemmed from verified information regarding an individual involved in the illegal sale and transport of undocumented cigarettes lacking the required graphic health warnings, in violation of Section 6 of Republic Act 10643 and pertinent provisions of Republic Act 10863,” De Guzman said in his report.
He said seized during the operation were 35 master cases of cigarettes worth P1.8 million, along with two vehicles, boodle money, and one genuine P1,000 marked bill used in the operation.
The suspect and the confiscated evidence were brought to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Regional Field Unit Bangsamoro Autonomous Region Office for proper documentation and disposition.
De Guzman commended the operating units and reaffirmed the organization’s intensified campaign against smuggling. (SunStar Zamboanga)