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No gov't officials linked to cigarette smuggling in Eastern Visayas: PRO-8

Philippines | Visayas

No gov't officials linked to cigarette smuggling in Eastern Visayas: PRO-8

By Marie Tonette Marticio

TACLOBAN CITY – The Police Regional Office-8 monitored no high-ranking government official involved in cigarette smuggling in Eastern Visayas.

But Police Col. Hector Enage, chief of the PRO-8 Regional Operations Division, confirmed that the region has been a transshipment point for smuggled cigarettes from the country’s backdoor.

Last month, PRO-8 seized P2-million worth of smuggled cigarettes from five provinces in Region 8.

Enage attributed the success of 12 anti-smuggling operations to information from concerned citizens.

“We have received many calls regarding these smuggled cigarettes, which our unit commanders verify immediately. Our provincial directors also receive information and act upon them,” he said.

He added that they have intensified coordination with different government agencies to strengthen the interagency interdiction team in all ports in the region.

Police Col. Ernesto Macasil, Eastern Samar Police Provincial Office chief, and Police Col. Dionisio Apas Jr., head of the Leyte PPO, said that they have filed charges against individuals caught transporting and selling the contraband.

Related Tags

Cigarette smuggling Eastern Visayas PRO-8

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