P2.5M worth of smuggled cigarettes seized in Davao City
Davao City map. INQUIRER FILES
DAVAO CITY — Police on Sunday seized some P2.5 million worth of smuggled cigarettes inside a 14-wheeler Isuzu truck at a Bago Gallera village checkpoint in this city.
The smuggled goods, which were carried aboard the truck from Zamboanga City, were reportedly bound for Sasa district here.
Police arrested the driver Ervin Jocson, 47, married and a resident of Bouganvilla Tungawan Zambonga City for violations of The Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines as amended by Republic Act 4712.
Along with the confiscated 200 boxes of imported D& G cigarettes, police also found documents, which said the truck that carried the contraband was registered under the name of Ronnie Abangan Tampipi.
Police accounts say the vehicle passed by the police checkpoint at Libby Road Purok 15, Barangay Bago Gallera here at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday.
When police personnel approached the vehicle, they noticed the 10 reams of cigarettes placed on top of the dashboard and another 40 reams inside the box placed beside the driver’s seat, prompting them to suspect something. They inspected the container and found one panel of its door open. When they looked inside, they found several boxes of imported D&G cigarettes.
The driver failed to produce the necessary documents, prompting the police to hold the smuggled goods and arrest the suspect. Police estimated the 200 boxes of the smuggled D&G cigarettes to be worth P2.5 million.
Police said they were coordinating with the Bureau of Customs to file charges against the suspect in court.
READ: CIDG seizes P2-M worth of cigarettes without health warning labels
