Suspected illegal cigarettes worth P41.05 million were confiscated by authorities in Cebu, Davao, and Nueva Ecija, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) said on Friday.
Police seized P618,000-worth of cigarettes ‘without the required graphic health warning labels, rendering them illegal,’ at the Danao City Public Market in Cebu province on Oct. 21 afternoon, the CIDG noted in a statement.
The operation led to the arrest of a woman, whom the CIDG did not identify. Meanwhile, P30.1 million-worth of cigarettes were confiscated by authorities in Dumoy, Davao City, later on Oct. 21, leading to the arrest of four men, whom the CIDG again did not identify.
The suspects were caught ‘hauling and transporting 403 master cases of alleged smuggled assorted cigarettes. and failed to present any documents or proof of the legality of the items,’ the police explained.
Then, on Oct. 23 afternoon, police found cigarettes worth P10.3 million at a facility in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, through a search warrant for alleged violations of Republic Act No. 7394 or the Consumer Act.