Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat – April 9, 2026 — Authorities launched a manhunt for unidentified suspects who evaded a border checkpoint and abandoned a vehicle loaded with hundreds of thousands of pesos worth of smuggled cigarettes, in a brazen attempt to bypass law enforcement in this town.
According to police reports, joint personnel from the Esperanza Municipal Police Station (MPS), the 2nd Sultan Kudarat Provincial Mobile Force Company (SKPMFC), and the 1202nd Maneuver Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 12 (RMFB 12) were conducting a routine checkpoint operation at the Regional Border Checkpoint in Purok Paglaum, Barangay Poblacion, when a maroon Nissan Terra approached the area.
Instead of complying with standard inspection procedures, the vehicle reportedly accelerated and broke through the checkpoint, prompting authorities to immediately initiate a dragnet operation.
The pursuit led operatives to the national highway in Purok Bagong Silang, Barangay Dukay, where the suspects abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot. A subsequent inspection of the vehicle’s trunk yielded approximately 770 reams of smuggled “Fort” brand cigarettes, with an estimated market value of ₱658,873.
Investigators recovered a Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) identification card inside the vehicle, which led to the identification of one of the passengers as an individual known only by the alias “Nai,” a resident of Poblacion 2, Parang, Maguindanao del Norte.
Witnesses in the area told authorities that the fleeing suspects later boarded a commuter Toyota Hi-Ace van bound for Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, in an apparent attempt to evade capture.
A flash alarm has since been issued to all police units and checkpoints across the province and nearby areas to track down and arrest the suspects.
Police Captain Jeffrey Lazaro, Officer-in-Charge of Esperanza MPS, said intensified anti-smuggling operations are underway in coordination with partner agencies as part of broader efforts to combat the illegal tobacco trade in the municipality.
Authorities have yet to determine the full extent of the smuggling operation and whether the suspects are part of a larger syndicate. Investigations are ongoing.