CAMP SK PENDATUN, June 16 -- Police officers confiscated about PHP70 million worth of smuggled cigarettes in Picong, Lanao del Sur, on Monday, following intelligence reports that three makeshift warehouses were being used as storage and drop-off points for contraband.

In an interview, Lanao del Norte Police Provincial Office chief Col. Caezar Cabuhat said 16 persons were arrested inside the warehouses located in Barangay Liyangan, a coastal village of Picong.

The operating units, led by the 1402nd Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion (RMFB) 14-A, also turned over four minors found inside the warehouses to the social welfare office in Picong.

Four others managed to elude arrest during the 3 a.m. operation.

Cabuhat said that ...