2 nabbed in Madridejos over illegal LPG refill, ₱3M smuggled cigarettes

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Two men accused of illegally refilling butane canisters and possessing an estimated ₱3 million worth of suspected smuggled cigarettes remain in police custody following a buy-bust operation in Madridejos, Cebu, early Thursday, July 9.

The suspects, identified only by their aliases “Ronel,” 30, and “Noel,” 37, both residents of Sitio Kagwangan in Barangay Tarong, are currently being held at the Madridejos Municipal Police Station while criminal complaints are being prepared for filing in court.

Illegal LPG selling and refilling uncovered

The operation, conducted shortly after 1 a.m., was carried out by the 1st Provincial Mobile Force Company (PMFC), the Madridejos Municipal Police Station, and the Regional Intelligence Division (RID)-7 after authorities received reports about the alleged illegal selling and refilling of LPG, or butane canisters, in the area.

Police said the suspects were caught during a buy-bust operation selling illegally refilled butane canisters.

Recovered from the operation were 325 illegally refilled butane canisters, a refilling setup consisting of a 50-kilogram LPG tank, a weighing scale, improvised refilling equipment, and the marked buy-bust money.

READ: PNP: 3 nabbed, P1.36M illegal LPG equipment seized in Bulacan

Suspected smuggled cigarettes seized

During the operation, authorities also discovered a large cache of suspected smuggled cigarettes in the suspects’ possession.

Seized were 30 master cases of cigarettes, consisting of 14 master cases of United Menthol cigarettes and 16 master cases of Bosston cigarettes, with an estimated combined market value of ₱3 million.

Police said the suspects were informed of the nature of their arrest and apprised of their constitutional rights under the Miranda Doctrine.

READ: ₱860M worth of smuggled cigarettes seized in Cebu

Charges prepared

As of Friday, July 10, authorities were finalizing criminal complaints against the suspects for violating Section 40 of Republic Act No. 11592 (illegal selling and refilling of LPG cylinders and butane canisters) and Section 1401 of Republic Act No. 10863, or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, for possession of suspected smuggled goods.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.

Your subscription has been successful.

Read Next

Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.