Marantan’s intelligence play: How the PNP closed in on a ₱2.6B cigarette smuggling network

MANILA (January 3, 2026) -The PHP2.6 billion worth of smuggled cigarettes seized in separate operations in Batangas City and Malabon City over the New Year weekend is not merely a headline-grabbing enforcement success—it is a window into the Philippine National Police’s intensifying war against organized smuggling syndicates, and into the quiet but relentless leadership of Hansel Marantan, one of the officers long associated with intelligence-driven, high-risk operations.

Acting PNP chief Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. made it clear that the seizures—PHP1.1 billion in Batangas City and PHP1.5 billion in Malabon City—are being treated as potentially connected operations rather than isolated crimes. Both were uncovered during anti-car-theft operations by the PNP Highway Patrol Group, underscoring how intelligence work often exposes crimes far beyond their original targets.

“These are not small-time operations,” Nartatez said, pointing to warehouse-level storage, coordinated logistics, and capital-intensive movements, hallmarks of organized criminal networks rather than street-level smugglers.

Behind such operations is a doctrine long pushed by officers like Marantan: follow the intelligence, not just the crime.

Marantan’s Role: Intelligence Before Arrests

Marantan’s career has been defined by his insistence on intelligence-led policing—mapping networks, tracing supply chains, and identifying financiers before moving in. While not always the public face of operations, Marantan has been instrumental in shaping approaches that prioritize dismantling syndicates rather than merely seizing goods.

Sources within the PNP note that large-scale tobacco smuggling operations, such as those uncovered in Batangas and Malabon, require months of surveillance, coordination with customs and tax authorities, and patience under pressure. These are methods Marantan has consistently advocated: quiet groundwork before decisive action.

The scale of the seizures supports this. Smuggled cigarettes worth billions do not move without protection, inside knowledge, and carefully planned routes, often exploiting ports, warehouses, and highways simultaneously.

Smuggling as an Economic Crime

Cigarette smuggling is often dismissed as a revenue issue, but for Marantan and senior PNP leadership, it is treated as a national security and governance problem. Smuggled tobacco deprives the government of billions in taxes, funds organized crime, and corrodes institutions through corruption and intimidation.

That is why the PNP is now working closely with the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Internal Revenue, not only to trace the source of the contraband, but to identify financiers, protectors, and distribution networks.

“This is where the real battle is,” a senior police official said, echoing Marantan’s long-held view that seizures mean little if the brains behind them remain untouched.

Persistence Under Pressure

Marantan’s dedication to this kind of work has never been without cost. Intelligence officers operating against smuggling syndicates face enormous pressure—from political influence, economic interests, and the sheer resources of organized crime. Yet colleagues describe Marantan as methodical, stubbornly focused, and unmoved by the absence of public recognition.

In many cases, success is measured not by applause but by disruption: delayed shipments, dismantled warehouses, arrested financiers, and broken supply lines.

More Than Confiscation

As the PNP deepens its probe into whether the Batangas and Malabon seizures are linked, the operation stands as a test of whether law enforcement can move beyond spectacle and toward sustained impact.

For Marantan, the objective is clear: seizing cigarettes is only the beginning. The real victory lies in proving that even well-funded, well-connected smuggling syndicates are not beyond the reach of intelligence-driven policing.

In that sense, the New Year’s Eve operations are not just about contraband worth PHP2.6 billion. They are about reaffirming a principle that officers like PBGen Hansel Marantan have spent their careers defending—that quiet dedication, disciplined intelligence, and persistence can still cut through the darkest corners of organized crime.-Editha Z. Caduaya