By CESAR JOLITO III

Authorities recovered an estimated P380,000 worth of illicit cigarettes after two individuals allegedly attempted to evade a police checkpoint operation in Negros Occidental’s Bago City early Thursday morning, May 20.

Bago police said a 30-year-old male driver of an Asian utility vehicle reportedly sped away at a checkpoint instead of stopping for inspection around 2:45 a.m. along Rafael Salas Drive in Barangay Balingasag.

Police also noticed several boxes inside the vehicle after the driver opened the window.

Officers attempted to flag it down, prompting authorities to launch a hot pursuit operation.

Police said the driver allegedly failed to present a valid driver’s license and vehicle documents upon inspection.

The fleeing vehicle was later intercepted along the highway in Barangay Pacol, also in the city.

The driver, along with his 31-year-old female passenger, both residents of Barangay San Vicente in Binalbagan, later admitted that the cargo consisted of 23 boxes of illicit cigarettes with an estimated market value of P380,000.

Police brought the suspects, the recovered cigarettes, and the vehicle to the police station for documentation and proper disposition./CJ, WDJ