P7 million in contraband goods seized in 10 months in Davao City

DAVAO CITY, Davao del Sur, Philippines—The military’s Joint Task Force Davao seized a total of P7 million in contraband goods from January to mid-October this year that were attempted to be sneaked over land into this city.

The illegal items — including cigarettes, firearms, and illegal drugs — were intercepted at five task force checkpoints at the city borders, according to Col. Darren Comia, task force commander.

A total of 215 persons were arrested for smuggling.

The cigarettes worth P1.25 million were intercepted on Tuesday in Barangay Sirawan. They were loaded on a trailer truck with three suspects from Davao del Sur.

This brought the total value of seized illegal cigarettes to P3.98 million, with a total of 7,952 reams.

In the same period, 204 grams of crystal meth worth P3.22 million and 867 grams of cannabis worth about P108,000 were seized. A total of 155 individuals were arrested at the checkpoints.

The task force also arrested 42 individuals for trying to sneak illegal firearms into the city, among them an Army soldier who brought with him nine weapons on a vehicle he was driving.

According to Comia, the task force has intensified security at the borders to prevent smuggling, especially during All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day when most people are focused on visiting the cemeteries.

He said he would request from the 10th Infantry Division for an augmentation force of at least a company of soldiers and a reservist battalion to help helps secure areas of convergence in the city, particularly cemeteries.

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