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John Unson - Philstar.com
August 20, 2026 | 4:45pm
The confiscated imported cigarettes are now in the custody of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.
Philstar.com / John Unson
COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Policemen seized a big volume of Indonesian-made cigarettes, neatly piled inside a van-type truck, intercepted at a checkpoint at Sitio Marayag in Barangay Bayanga Norte in Matanog, Maguindanao del Norte on Tuesday morning, August 18.
Local executives and officials of the Maguindanao del Norte Provincial Police Office separately said on Thursday that policemen and Bureau of Customs personnel in Cotabato City are together validating the value of the confiscated cigarettes.
Municipal and barangay officials who supported the operation placed at no less than P7 million their estimate of the seized cigarettes with Indonesian brands.
Barangay officials in Bayanga Norte and investigators from the Matanog Municipal Police Station told reporters on Thursday that truck driver Arniel Alegarbes and his helper, Jaytonie Isidro, were supposed to deliver the illegal merchandise to retailers in different towns in Maguindanao del Norte and in Cotabato City
Captain Steffie Salanguit, spokesperson of the Police Regional Officer-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, said different police units were involved in the operation that resulted in the confiscation of the smuggled cigarettes, to be turned over to customs officials for their bureau’s proper disposition.
