TACLOBAN CITY — Authorities seized alleged smuggled cigarettes worth P3.25 million and arrested three suspects during a joint entrapment operation in Basey, Samar on Tuesday, Aug. 4, in what police described as part of their intensified campaign against illicit tobacco trade.
The operation was conducted in Barangay Amandayehan by operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Regional Field Unit 8–Regional Special Operations Team (CIDG RFU 8-RSOT), in coordination with the Basey Municipal Police Station, the Regional Special Operations Team–Regional Maritime Unit 8, the Regional Intelligence Division/Regional Special Operations Unit 8–Team Samar, and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Revenue District Office in Tacloban City.
Arrested were a 38-year-old driver from Guiuan, Eastern Samar identified only as alias “Dev,” a 29-year-old unemployed woman known as alias “May,” and a 42-year-old driver from Basey identified as alias “Rod.”
Police said the suspects were caught in possession of 50 master cases of “CANON Menthol” cigarettes allegedly lacking the required BIR excise tax stamps and graphic health warnings.
The confiscated cigarettes were estimated to be worth P3.25 million.
Also recovered during the operation were the marked money used in the entrapment, two mobile phones, and three vehicles allegedly used to transport the contraband—an Isuzu utility vehicle, a Toyota HiAce van, and a Suzuki Traviz utility vehicle.
Brig. Gen. Jason Capoy, director of the Police Regional Office 8, commended the operating units for the successful operation, saying it underscores the police’s continued efforts to curb illicit trade and protect government revenues.
“The success of this entrapment operation demonstrates our sustained commitment to combating illicit trade and protecting government revenue from illegal activities. We will continue to strengthen intelligence-driven operations and inter-agency coordination to ensure those engaged in unlawful activities are brought to justice,” Capoy said.
The suspects were taken to the CIDG Tacloban City Field Unit for documentation and proper disposition.
Authorities are preparing charges against them for alleged violations of Republic Act No. 10643 or the Graphic Health Warnings Law, provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code on excise taxes as amended by Republic Act No. 11346, and Republic Act No. 7394 or the Consumer Act of the Philippines.
The Philippine government has intensified its crackdown on the illegal cigarette trade, which authorities say deprives the government of billions of pesos in excise tax revenues each year while allowing the proliferation of untaxed tobacco products in the market.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
