- 7 arrested, vehicle seized in anti-smuggling operation
AUTHORITIES handcuffed seven men and confiscated a utility vehicle loaded with alleged smuggled cigarettes in a joint operation near Gaisano Grand Citygate along Cabantian Road, Buhangin, late Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 14.
Davao City Police Office spokesperson Captain Hazel Tuazon said the arrest took place around 4:30 p.m. after a coordinated anti-smuggling operation.
The suspects were only identified as alias Ronald (44, a resident of General Santos City), Abdulkadir (39, from Maguindanao), Abdulnasjer (26, from Koronadal City), Anwar (40, from Sarangani Province), Mohammad (22, also from Koronadal City), Norhamsam (31, from Sultan Kudarat), and Nadzrodin (24, from Maguindanao).
Personnel from the 5th Special Operations Unit and the Davao Intelligence Team of the Maritime Group, led by Staff Sergeant Norish Ervin Umacob, Buhangin Police Station, under the supervision of acting station commander Major Clarian Dave S. Toboso, conducted the operation.
They seized as evidence the utility vehicle bearing plate number UCJ 657, which was loaded with an undetermined quantity of smuggled cigarettes.
The apprehended persons and the seized evidence are currently held at the Buhangin Police Station. The suspects will be charged for violating Republic Act No. 10643 or the Graphic Health Warnings Law, a common charge related to the distribution of illicit, untaxed tobacco products.”
Tuazon said the successful operation is part of the ongoing intensified campaign by local law enforcement to curb the proliferation of illicit tobacco trade in Davao City and the wider region.
Photo courtesy of DCPO
