Truck in road mishap yields P2.5 million smuggled cigarettes

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Police responding to an accident along the highway in Dumingag, Zamboanga del Sur on Thursday discovered smuggled cigarettes worth P2.5 million in an ill-fated truck.

The driver of the panel truck, Janisar Isnani; his wife Richel, 30, and Raven Lutian, 27, were injured in the accident and taken to a hospital for treatment, Col. Richard Verceles, operations chief of Area Police Command-Western Mindanao, said.

The three were arrested for failing to present pertinent papers to transport the cigarettes.

Initial investigation showed the truck, which came from Siayan, Zamboanga del Norte, was speeding when its brake malfunctioned. The vehicle veered off the road and rammed a tree before it crashed on the shoulder.

The cargo was unloaded due to the impact of the crash, exposing the smuggled cigarettes stashed in boxes of dried fish.

Verceles said barangay officials, police personnel and representatives from the Bureau of Customs witnessed the inventory of the smuggled items.