CABANATUAN CITY, Nueva Ecija — Approximately P150,000 worth of counterfeit cigarettes were confiscated, and two suspects were arrested yesterday morning (November 8) in Nueva Ecija. The arrests came two days after authorities raided an illegal cigarette factory in the neighboring province of Bulacan.

Reports reaching Col. Ferdinand Germino, acting provincial director of Nueva Ecija, stated that the two suspects were on board a brown metallic Toyota Vios when they were flagged down during a routine checkpoint in Barangay Sto. Rosario Young, Zaragoza town, around 11:45 a.m. yesterday.

Upon inspection, police manning the checkpoint spotted 11 boxes of Carnival cigarettes and two boxes of HP cigarettes in plain view, with a combined street value of P150,000.

The suspects failed to provide the necessary documents for the cigarettes, leading to their confiscation.

The duo, along with the confiscated items, were placed under the custody of the Zaragoza Municipal Police Station for appropriate legal procedures.

It can be recalled that on Wednesday, authorities raided an illegal cigarette factory in Barangay Moranquillo, San Rafael, Bulacan. This raid led to the seizure of P1.2 billion worth of products and equipment, the rescue of 155 trafficked persons, and the arrest of a Chinese national.

The raid was conducted through the implementation of Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Mission Order No. MS0201700024179, dated November 5, 2024, pursuant to the provisions of Section 6(C) of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997. It was carried out by operatives from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, San Rafael Municipal Police Station, and representatives from the BIR Regional Director No. 5, Caloocan, in coordination with the Central Luzon Police Office.

📷 PIO Nueva Ecija PNP