Lanao del sur: Alert police officers arrested one of their own in Lanao del Sur for transporting over PHP1.9 million worth of smuggled cigarettes before dawn Thursday. Lt. Col. Jopy Ventura, spokesperson for the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR), identified the arrested police officer as certain ‘Staff Sgt. Nasser,’ 40, an active member of the Lanao del Sur police force, and his companion, Ansary Barua, 42, both from Malabang, Lanao del Sur.
According to Philippines News Agency, a joint police team from the 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Battalion and Malabang Municipal Police Station (MPS) set up a checkpoint in Barangay Jose Abad Santos (JAS), Malabang, at around 4 a.m. after reports of ongoing transport of smuggled cigarettes in the area. An investigation by Malabang MPS showed that a van stopped a few meters from the police checkpoint and attempted to escape, but the driver was arrested.
‘They were supposed to deliver the contraband to Marawi City when flagged down in Barangay JAS,’ Ventura said. Police found 50 boxes or 2,500 reams of San Marino smuggled cigarettes properly piled inside a white Toyota Hi-Ace van with license plate (NDG 3631). It has an estimated market value of PHP1,962,500.
The suspects are now detained at the Malabang police station, while the confiscated cigarettes are set to be turned over to the Bureau of Customs. Ventura commended the police team for enforcing the law equally, even if the offender is a colleague.
