Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. on Sunday directed police units nationwide to intensify operations against strategic transit and storage hubs used in the illegal cigarette trade.
Nartatez stressed the need for sustained pressure on organized criminal networks that use key areas as transit points and warehouses for smuggled cigarettes, noting that the focus is on syndicates, not communities.
“Our ongoing intelligence assessment shows recurring smuggling activities in strategic transit and storage areas, particularly in parts of Central Luzon and some areas in Mindanao,” Nartatez said.
He said the PNP will sustain aggressive operations to counter cigarette smuggling, which deprives the government of billions of pesos in tax revenues.
“We have to counter every aggressive move by these cigarette smugglers because this illegal activity involves billions of pesos in supposed taxes to the government. We have to sustain our efforts to locate the smuggled items, dismantle their networks, and identify and hold accountable all those involved,” he added.
The directive followed a series of recent operations that resulted in the seizure of more than P100 million worth of smuggled cigarettes in Bulacan and Davao del Sur.
On February 6, joint operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) seized about P80 million worth of illegal cigarettes during an entrapment operation in Marilao, Bulacan.
This led to the arrest of two foreign nationals suspected of involvement in large-scale illicit distribution.
On the same day, police also confiscated around P22 million worth of suspected smuggled cigarettes in Barangay Dawis, Digos City, Davao del Sur.
Nartatez said the recent hauls highlight the scale of the illegal trade and the role of organized financiers behind it.
“No amount of money, influence, or connections can protect smugglers and their financiers. You are not safe. We will go after not only the runners and warehouse operators, but more importantly, the financiers and masterminds behind these illegal activities,” he said.
Earlier, the PNP inspected a raided illegal cigarette factory in Mexico, Pampanga, where about P400 million worth of tobacco products were recovered.
Since December last year, authorities have seized around P10 billion worth of undocumented cigarettes, paraphernalia, and machinery from warehouses and illegal manufacturing plants in Batangas, Malabon, and Pampanga.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “‘Tighten noose on regional cigarette smuggling hubs’”
