Fake cigarettes seized from vendor at Ecija checkpoint
GENERAL NATIVIDAD, Nueva Ecija — Police arrested on Monday morning a 21-year-old vendor at a government checkpoint after several reams of fake Red Two Moon and Two Moon Menthol cigarettes were found in his tricycle.
Nabbed was Raymond Baldedara, single, vendor, of Bgy. Bantug Hacienda, Talavera, Nueva Ecija.
Provincial police director Col. Jaime O. Santos said the suspect, who was driving a black Kawasaki Bajaj tricycle, was flagged down while his men were conducting Oplan Sita operations in Bgy. Picaleon here at 10 a.m.
During inspection, operatives found 20 reams each of alleged fake Red Two Moon and Two Moon Menthol cigarettes inside his vehicle.
Santos said the contraband was worth about P10,800.
He said the arrested suspect and the seized illegal cigarettes were brought to the police station here for proper disposition while charges for violation of Republic Act 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines was prepared for filing against him.
In December last year, the municipality of San Antonio headed by Mayor Arvin C. Salonga launched a crackdown against the sale of fake cigarettes targeting unscrupulous traders and vendors selling the contraband in public market and in the barangays, resulting in the arrest of several individuals, including a woman and two market stall owners.
