BACOLOD City – Alleged smuggled cigarettes worth P2 million were confiscated by authorities in Barangay Isio, Cauayan, Negros Occidental.
Suspects Dandy Calago, 28, of Dipolog City; Rolando Lanario, 27, and Joel Carvana, 42, both residents of Hinigaran, Negros Occidental, were arrested by the local police at around 3 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 12.
More or less 100 boxes of different brands of cigarettes did not have pertinent documents.
In January, around P1-million worth of alleged counterfeit cigarettes were also confiscated from a Chinese national in Roxas City. It was part of the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) first-ever simultaneous nationwide raids against the illicit cigarette trade, placing all regional enforcers on alert.
The government is losing P50 to P100 billion in tax revenues from the illicit tobacco trade, which is intended to fund basic services, including the Universal Health Care program and other national development goals./PN