Authorities intercepted two delivery vans loaded with smuggled cigarettes in Basay, Negros Oriental, on Saturday.
According to Master Sgt. Aurelio Bodo, chief of the Highway Patrol Team–Negros Oriental, the vans were found abandoned in Purok 6, Barangay Nagbo-alao. A joint team from the Highway Patrol Group–Negros Island Region (HPG-NIR), Basay police, the Provincial Intelligence Unit, and the Maritime Group’s Special Operations Unit secured the contraband.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Revenue District Office 79 conducted a physical inventory of the seized items. The value of the cigarettes has yet to be determined, Bodo said.
The vehicles and the confiscated goods were brought to the HPG-NIR headquarters in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, for further validation and proper disposition.
