ZAMBOANGA CITY – Authorities arrested three people and seized smuggled cigarettes worth more than PHP2.8 million in an anti-smuggling operation here, police said Wednesday.
Col. Melvin Laguros, chief of the Regional Maritime Unit-9 (RMU-9), said the contraband was discovered around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at a storage facility of a private cargo firm in Barangay Baliwasan.
The suspects were identified as Joveven Tanaza, 38, the driver; Jerome Solaiman, 31, a truck helper; and Darrel Januarius Wee, 42, a checker.
Laguros said they received an intelligence report indicating that a shipment of smuggled cigarettes was expected to arrive at the cargo firm's facility in the village.
“Operating elements were strategically positioned in the compound of the private cargo firm to monitor the arrival of the alleged smuggled cigarettes loaded in a vehicle,” Laguros said in an interview.
He said a closed van was observed unloading cargo, including the contraband, into an open container van, prompting the raid.
Maj. Benito Siddayao, chief of the city’s Maritime Police Station (MARPSTA), immediately coordinated with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to inspect the seized cargo.
Siddayao said the inspection yielded 50 master cases of trafficked cigarettes wrapped in white sacks.
The suspects and the seized cigarettes were taken to the MARPSTA for proper processing. (Teofilo Garcia, Jr.)
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