By CESAR JOLITO III

A 57-year-old man in possession of an estimated P715,000 worth of illicit cigarettes was arrested in an early morning operation at Barangay Hilamonan in Negros Occidental’s Kabankalan City yesterday.

The suspect, identified only as alias “Bazer,” a driver and vendor from Santa Catalina, Zamboanga City, was apprehended at 2:50 a.m. after police received a tip from a concerned citizen about the alleged unloading of cigarette boxes in Sitio Utod.

Personnel from the Kabankalan Component City Police Station caught “Bazer” in the act of unloading boxes of cigarette products from a red dropside truck.

Authorities said the suspect appeared to be preparing to distribute the illegal cigarettes within the locality.

Police said the seized items did not bear the required graphic health warnings, a violation of Republic Act 10643, also known as the Graphic Health Warnings Law, which mandates the proper labeling of tobacco products.

The suspect is now under the custody of the Kabankalan police for the filing of appropriate charges.

Further investigation is ongoing to determine the source of the illicit products and identify possible accomplices./CJ, WDJ