Two young men nabbed with P200-K ‘smuggled cigarettes’

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – Police intercepted two young men at a checkpoint at CL Ledesma Avenue, Barangay 1, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental last Wednesday for transporting alleged smuggled cigarettes amounting to P200,000.

Arrested were Omair Dirindigun, 25, and Sacaroding Sarip, 21, both residents of Barangay 5.

Police Major Ryan Villasario, deputy chief of San Carlos City Police Station, said the suspects failed to present documents to authorities attesting to the legality of the cigarettes inside their vehicle when they were flagged down.

Police confiscated from them 390 reams of alleged smuggled cigarettes.

Villasario said the suspects alleged that they were just asked by someone to transport the cigarettes. But they could not reveal the identity of the said person.

Villasario said the suspects shared limited information with the police for now.

He said they will be charged for violation of Republic Act 11346 or the Tobacco tax law of 2019.

Police are also waiting for the advice of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on the matter.

Villasario said they are probing if this incident could be linked to the P4 million worth of smuggled cigarettes that were also seized by the BIR in a house in Barangay 5 on July 13.