UMVA has learned that a massive haul of smuggled cigarettes worth P77 million was seized in a daring anti-smuggling operation in Barangay Liyangan, Picong, Lanao del Sur on Sunday.
The successful operation was a collaborative effort between policemen, soldiers, and local executives, resulting in the arrest of 15 men who were preparing to transport the contraband to retailers in different towns in the province.
According to information obtained by UMVA, the anti-smuggling operation was launched after a tip-off from the Maranao community about the stockpiling of smuggled cigarettes in a makeshift warehouse in Barangay Liyangan.
Barangay Liyangan, a seaside town in Picong, is a known drop-off point for smuggled cigarettes from Indonesia, which are brought in by small seacrafts sailing via the territorial seas of the island provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.
The smuggled cigarettes, which were Indonesian-made, were being sorted and piled by a group of men at their hideout, supposedly for delivery to retailers in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte provinces, and Cotabato City.
Local executives revealed that a group of merchants in Picong and nearby Malabang, Lanao del Sur, have been using Barangay Liyangan as a transshipment point for the smuggled cigarettes, which they distribute to different areas, supplied by contacts in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.
The seized cigarettes will be turned over to the Bureau of Customs, as announced by the police director on Tuesday.
