Manila: Authorities have arrested an individual and seized about PHP1.4 million worth of smuggled cigarettes during a law enforcement operation Saturday afternoon in Zamboanga Sibugay province.

According to Philippines News Agency, Col. Barnard Danie Dasugo, Zamboanga Sibugay police director, stated that an adult male suspect was apprehended in Barangay Makila, Ipil, the province's capital town. The anti-smuggling operation was initiated following an intelligence report regarding the shipment of smuggled cigarettes in Ipil.

Dasugo reported that 24 master cases of Pragon cigarettes, valued at PHP1,375,200 according to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) standard pricing, were confiscated. The suspect and the seized items were taken to Ipil Municipal Police Station for temporary custody before being handed over to the BOC for proper disposition and the filing of appropriate charges.

On July 31, in a separate nighttime operation in Zamboanga del Norte, police personnel arrested a police officer and a businessman after intercepting a shipment of smuggled cigarettes valued at about PHP1.8 million. Lt. Col. Edwin Verzon, commander of the Zamboanga del Norte 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company, disclosed that the arrested suspects included a 34-year-old policeman from Zamboanga City Police Station 10 and a 36-year-old businessman from Barangay Tumaga, Zamboanga City.

Verzon further mentioned that the smuggling suspects were traveling in a vehicle when police personnel flagged them down at a checkpoint in Barangay Gatas, following a tip-off about the contraband. The operation led to the seizure of approximately 1,630 reams of smuggled cigarettes and a loaded 9mm pistol from the businessman.