Palawan authorities uncovered yet another hoard of abandoned smuggled cigarettes at Sitio Agro, Barangay Marangas, Bataraza municipality, in the southern part of Palawan, on Friday, February 23.
In a press release on Monday, February 26, Maj. Ric Ramos, the spokesperson for the Palawan Police Provincial Office (PPPO), stated that a tip to the Bataraza Municipal Police Station (MPS) had facilitated the discovery.
Responding swiftly, operatives from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Bataraza MPS, and the 3rd Platoon PPMFC discovered the cigarettes along Sitio Agro’s seashore, prompting them to investigate and secure the area.
The collaboration resulted in the retrieval of five master cases of Fort cigarettes in red packaging, along with 60 large, knot-tied transparent plastic bags, each filled with 50 rims of Fort cigarettes wrapped in white.
The items were inventoried and seized on-site by PCG personnel, with the process duly witnessed by a barangay councilor of Maranggas.
The confiscated items were then transported to the PCG Bataraza Station for safekeeping, pending further investigation and eventual turnover to the Bureau of Customs for appropriate disposition.
Authorities are currently conducting a follow-up investigation to identify the owner of the smuggled goods and to uncover further details behind this incident.
