Photo courtesy of Office of the Chief PNP/Facebook.
The Philippine National Police on Sunday moved to widen its campaign against large-scale cigarette smuggling, shifting focus from seizures to those allegedly financing the illegal trade.
PNP acting chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. directed police units to conduct an in-depth investigation to identify and prosecute the individuals believed to be bankrolling the operations.
Nartatez said recent enforcement actions showed that while authorities have been able to intercept smuggled goods and arrest some suspects, the syndicates behind them remain largely intact.
His order followed a series of high-value seizures, including the interception of more than P500 million worth of illegal cigarettes by the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Highway Patrol Group in Metro Manila on Friday.
Police also uncovered about P1.1 billion worth of suspected smuggled cigarettes during an anti-car theft operation in Batangas City late last year, and seized another P1.5 billion worth of similar goods at a dockyard in Malabon City on the same day.
Nartatez said the intensified effort aligns with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to crack down on illicit trade, which deprives the government of much-needed tax revenues and fuels corruption.
The PNP chief added that the police force would cooperate with a Senate inquiry initiated by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, who has raised concerns over reports that influential security officials may be involved in funding cigarette smuggling networks.