MANILA, Philippines– The Philippine National Police seized an estimated P143 million worth of alleged smuggled cigarettes and arrested three suspects who allegedly attempted to bribe officers with P5 million during an operation along G. Araneta Avenue in Quezon City in the early hours of Dec. 19.
Police identified the arrested suspects as Gener Manzanero Gonzales, 58; Rogie Aycardo Rueda, 40; and Loreto Andal Gertes Jr., 48.
Acting PNP chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said members of the PNP Highway Patrol Group intercepted two trailer trucks carrying around 2,000 boxes of cigarettes during a traffic and anti-carnapping operation in Quezon City.
Nartatez said police officers conducted an inspection and discovered that the two trailer trucks had no registration records and that the drivers could not present documents for the cargo.
He said the PNP coordinated with the Bureau of Customs to verify possible violations of customs and tax laws and to help identify individuals or groups behind the alleged smuggling operation.
During the entrapment at Camp Olivas, police operatives arrested the three suspects after they allegedly handed P5 million in marked money to the officers in exchange for the release of the seized shipment.
Investigators said they recovered the marked money used in the operation and placed the three suspects under police custody.