BACOLOD CITY – Police arrested two vendors and confiscated smuggled cigarettes valued at P892,385 at the Bago Public Market, Barangay Makiling, Sagay City, Negros Occidental on Saturday, October 12.
The suspects were identified as Nasif, 25, and Sadik, 21, residents of Barangay Balintawak, Escalante City, Negros Occidental.
AUTHORITIES seize P892,385 worth of smuggled cigarettes at Bago Public Market in Barangay Makiling, Sagay City, Negros Occidental on Saturday, October 12. (Photo courtesy of RMU-Western Visayas)
Police recovered 118 reams of cigarettes, 91 packs of cigarettes, and a tricycle from the suspects. Also recovered were 81 packs and 1,344 reams of fake cigarettes.
However, their three companions managed to escape.
Police Lt. Col. Ervin Glenn Provido, head of the Regional Maritime Unit (RMU)-Western Visayas, said they conducted a two-month monitoring after receiving a complaint against the suspects.
Provido said that selling of smuggled and counterfeit cigarette brands in the market is prohibited as these did not undergo proper procedure.
He said the contraband was believed to be sourced from the southern part of the country.
The operation was conducted in coordination with the Sagay City police, Bureau of Customs, and the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
The suspects face cases for violating Republic Act (RA) 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) and RA 8293 or the Intellectual Property Act.