By Edwin Fernandez

SEIZED. A portion of the 266 master cases of smuggled cigarettes confiscated by police authorities in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte on Thursday (Oct. 2, 2025). Two suspects were arrested and detained for failure to present documents to prove their cargoes were legal. (Photo courtesy of Alvin Fong)

COTABATO CITY – Alert police officers, acting on a tip from a concerned citizen, arrested two suspects and confiscated about PHP9.5 million worth of smuggled cigarettes during a pre-dawn law enforcement operation in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte on Thursday.

Lt. Col. Esmael Madin, Datu Odin Sinsuat municipal police station (MPS) chief, said the smuggled cigarettes, believed to be from Malaysia, were confiscated at a mobile checkpoint they set up shortly before 4 a.m. along Barangay Poblacion.

“We confiscated 266 master cases of cigarettes from the van that was heading to Tacurong City,” Madin told reporters in an interview.

The suspects are now detained at the Datu Odin MPS detention facility while appropriate charges are being prepared against them.

Madin lauded his men for a job well done, as well as the tipster who provided the police with the information. (PNA)