ZAMBOANGA CITY (December 9) — Four individuals were arrested and ₱4.1 million worth of smuggled cigarettes were seized during a police operation in Maguindanao del Sur, the Bangsamoro police reported Sunday.
Police Brig. Gen. Jaysen De Guzman, director of the Police Regional Office–Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR), said the suspects were apprehended Friday in Barangay Labu-Labu 1, Datu Hoffer Ampatuan. Their identities were withheld pending further investigation.
De Guzman said the operatives were conducting an anti-criminality mobile patrol when they intercepted the group transporting 5,250 reams of smuggled cigarettes valued at ₱4,121,250.
The seized items were turned over to the Datu Hoffer Municipal Police Station for proper disposition, while the suspects remain under custody.
The arrest was carried out by a joint team from the Maguindanao del Sur Police Provincial Office and the Provincial Mobile Force Company.
De Guzman said the regional police will sustain intensified operations against smuggling and other criminal activities in Maguindanao del Sur and the rest of the Bangsamoro region.
