Police seized around ₱596,000 worth of allegedly smuggled cigarettes and apprehended a driver during a checkpoint operation in Samburon village, Linamon, Lanao del Norte, late Friday night, September 18, 2026.
Police Colonel Leo Sua, Lanao del Norte police director, said officers flagged down an Asian Utility Vehicle at around 11:50 p.m. and discovered assorted cigarettes being transported without proper documentation.
The driver, identified as alias Odin, 33, and a resident of Cormatan village, Poona Piagapo, was taken into custody for documentation and proper disposition.
Authorities recovered 745 reams of assorted cigarettes with an estimated market value of ₱596,000. The vehicle used to transport the shipment was also impounded.
The operation was carried out by the 3rd Platoon of the 1st Provincial Mobile Force Company in coordination with the Lanao del Norte Maritime Police Station, the 1005th Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 10, and the Linamon Municipal Police Station.
Odin was later referred to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for appropriate action. The confiscated cigarettes and vehicle remained under police custody pending turnover to the BOC.
Sua said sustained checkpoint operations and stronger coordination with government agencies are necessary to prevent the movement of illicit and undocumented goods.
The seizure was also the second anti-smuggling accomplishment recorded by Lanao del Norte police on September 18. Earlier that morning, authorities intercepted another shipment of allegedly smuggled cigarettes worth ₱321,600 in Campong village, Pantar, and arrested an individual in connection with the operation.
