(Photo courtesy of PRO-NIR)
DUMAGUETE CITY – Police are preparing complaints against three men arrested in Basay, Negros Oriental, following the seizure of suspected smuggled cigarettes valued at Php 3.09 million.
Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office spokesperson Capt. Stephen Jaynard Polinar said Tuesday that the suspects remain in police custody as authorities finalize the complaints.
The three men are facing alleged violations of Republic Act 10643, or the Graphic Health Warnings Law, and Republic Act 10863, also known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
Polinar said the complaints would be filed with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) rather than directly with the court, citing the seized cigarettes’ estimated value of less than Php 10 million.
“However, the complaints will be filed with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) instead of in court as the total worth of the seized ‘contraband’ has not reached the threshold of PHP10 million,” Polinar said.
Authorities identified the suspects by their aliases as Lom, 25, the truck driver; Joe, 41; and Ben, 40. All three are residents of Barangay Pook in Hinobaan, Negros Occidental.
The suspects were apprehended on November 1 at Sitio Lintob, Barangay Nagbo-alao, Basay, during a joint police operation that resulted in the confiscation of 54 master cases of suspected smuggled Bosque cigarettes.
According to police, the operation stemmed from intelligence information received by the Regional Intelligence Division of the Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region concerning the suspected transportation of illicit tobacco products aboard a blue truck.
Investigators said the vehicle was reportedly transporting the cigarettes from Barangay Nagbalaye in Santa Catalina, Negros Oriental, to Hinobaan, Negros Occidental.
The operation involved personnel from municipal, provincial, and regional police units, working alongside representatives of the Bureau of Customs.
The confiscated cigarettes are being held as evidence while authorities prepare the appropriate complaints against the suspects.
