By Edwin Fernandez

SEIZED CONTRABAND. Members of Cotabato City Police Office inspect the smuggled cigarettes abandoned in Barangay Kalanganan 2, Cotabato City on Wednesday (April 15, 2026). The contraband, valued at PHP3 million, was being unloaded from a cargo truck when the police arrived at about 4 a.m., sending several suspected smugglers running away from the scene. (Photo courtesy of CCPO)

COTABATO CITY – Alert police officers foiled a smuggling try by still unidentified men after the contraband was discovered in a secluded area in Barangay Kalanganan 2 here early Wednesday.

Operatives of Cotabato City Police Office (CCPO) immediately rushed to the area at past 4 a.m. after receiving intelligence information about a cargo truck loaded with what appeared to be smuggled cigarettes.

Col. Jibin Bongcayao, city police director, said he immediately sent personnel from Police Station 3 to Timako Hill in the coastal village to verify the report.

Police found an Isuzu truck (license plate MAJ 1273) parked beside the secluded road with boxes of cigarettes as cargo.

“The law enforcers noticed several men fleeing from the truck and had gone under cover of darkness, leaving behind the contraband,” he said in an interview with reporters.

Bongcayao said about 70 master cases of “Bosqu” brand cigarettes were discovered, with an estimated value of PHP3 million.

The cigarettes are now in the custody of Police Station 3 and will be turned over to the Bureau of Customs while charges are being prepared against the suspects, particularly the registered owner of the truck, for violations of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act and other related laws. (PNA)