PHP 787,500 worth of smuggled cigarettes seized in Escalante

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — A total of 35 boxes of assorted cigarettes valued at PHP 787,500 were seized by police from a parked vehicle in Purok Gardenia, Barangay Balintawak, Escalante City, Negros Occidental on Monday.

Police Capt. Lindsey Caraballe, deputy chief of the Escalante City Police Station, said station personnel were conducting patrols in the area when they spotted the vehicle parked beside the highway at around 9 p.m.

As officers approached the vehicle, an unidentified person was seen fleeing the scene.

Upon inspection, authorities discovered several boxes containing a total of 1,750 reams of imported cigarettes inside the vehicle.

Caraballe said investigators had yet to determine where the items were supposed to be distributed.

He added that they were waiting for the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs to conduct an inventory of the confiscated items.

Caraballe said they had already identified the vehicle’s registered owner based on documents recovered from the car, and encouraged the owner to come forward and cooperate with the investigation.

Reports of smuggled cigarette seizures in several areas across the province have surfaced since last month, with local authorities still probing how and where the items were sourced.