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Roel Pareño - The Philippine Star
June 8, 2026 | 12:00am
Operatives from the Labang municipal police station, Provincial Mobile Force Company and soldiers under the 101st Infantry Brigade were conducting the anti-criminality checkpoint operation when they pulled over at least three vehicles in Barangay Matling.
STAR / File
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Police intercepted an estimated P4.4 million worth of smuggled cigarettes and arrested three men who tried to slip the contraband through a checkpoint in Malabang town in Lanao del Sur on Saturday.
Operatives from the Labang municipal police station, Provincial Mobile Force Company and soldiers under the 101st Infantry Brigade were conducting the anti-criminality checkpoint operation when they pulled over at least three vehicles in Barangay Matling.
Investigators said the three men were driving along the national highway from Barangay Picong toward Marawi City when they were intercepted.
During ocular inspection, the operatives discovered 5,500 reams or 110 master cases of assorted brands of imported and untaxed cigarettes with an estimated value of P4.4 million.
According to the checkpoint operatives, the drivers of the vehicles failed to present documents to prove that the cigarette products and their transport were legal, leading to their arrest and the confiscation of the vehicles and smuggled cigarettes.
The police coordinated with the Bureau of Customs for the inventory of the seized items and proper filing of charges against the suspects.
