Bulacan: The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) has seized PHP27.6 million worth of illicit cigarettes and arrested two persons, including a Chinese national, in separate law enforcement operations in Bulacan and Bataan.
According to Philippines News Agency, CIDG Director Maj. Gen. Robert Morico II stated that the CIDG Regional Field Unit (RFU) 4A, CIDG Regional Field Unit 3, and CIDG Bataan Provincial Field Unit conducted two separate law enforcement operations in the provinces. The operations were carried out on November 5.
The CIDG RFU 4A, along with CIDG RFU 3, representatives from the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corporation (PMFTC) Inc., arrested a 39-year-old Chinese national, known by the alias Lin. The arrest took place in a warehouse located in Barangay Poblacion, Guiguinto, Bulacan, under a Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Mission Order. The charges included violations of the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, the Graphic Health Warnings Law, the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003, and the National Internal Revenue Code.
Authorities seized 384 master cases of assorted tobacco products, with an estimated total value of PHP26.88 million.
On the same day, the CIDG Bataan Provincial Field Unit conducted a buy-bust operation in Barangay Panilao, Pilar, Bataan. This operation resulted in the arrest of a 41-year-old female suspect, referred to as alias Mitch, for violation of the Consumer Act of the Philippines. The suspect was found with assorted cigarettes valued at PHP730,100.
