• RICHARD T. CABALLERO JR.
Three fishermen were caught in the act of illegal fishing at the municipal waters of Pontevedra, Negros Occidental, yesterday.
Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOcPPO) Spokesman PCapt. Judesses Catalogo stated that the suspects were illegally fishing within territorial waters, as observed by the Bantay Dagat of Pontevedra. It led to the confiscation of their equipment.
The three suspects are residents of Zone 5, Barangay Tagda, in the town of Hinigaran.
Recovered from the suspects were a motor compressor with a hose and approximately 5 kilos of pen shell.
Meanwhile, boxes of abandoned cigarettes were recovered by authorities inside the public market of Escalante City in Barangay Balintawak.
Investigation revealed that personnel from the Escalante Police Office conducted validation of a report from a concerned citizen regarding two allegedly abandoned boxes of smuggled or illicit cigarettes found inside the market.
During police validation, about 155 packs of assorted smuggled cigarettes were recovered.
The recovered items were transported to the Escalante City Police Station for proper documentation and custody. They will be referred to the appropriate government agencies for proper disposition.*
