An international security expert revealed that several former armed groups in Mindanao turned from acts of terrorism to cigarette smuggling.
An international security expert revealed that several former armed groups in Mindanao turned from acts of terrorism to cigarette and rice smuggling.
He said that after the extensive efforts by the military, law enforcement agencies and intelligence communities disrupted these groups, their members turned to criminal activities. He made this point during a thought leaders round table discussion on national security issues during the second day of the forum. The topics discussed were smuggling, counterfeiting, human trafficking, infiltration of business and government and money laundering, with a focus on cross-border crimes and the use of technology by criminals and terrorists.
Gunaratna said former armed groups were using funds acquired from activities like kidnap-for-ransom and financial support from backers to invest in activities such as cigarette and rice smuggling. They had also procured multiple speedboats for the illegal transportation of goods from neighboring countries, primarily Indonesia, he said.was initially founded in Basilan by Abdurajak Janjalani.
Another anti-terrorism expert, Professor Mohd Mizan Mohd Aslam from the University of Malaysia Perlis, noted the ASG’s involvement in cross-border crimes, specifically cigarette smuggling, in an article published in the New Straits Times on Sept. 21, 2021. Aslam noted that the ASG chose to smuggle cigarettes due to its “lowest risk” compared to other illicit goods.
He said to address the rampant illicit cigarette trade, smuggling and the sale of smuggled cigarettes, the government should tackle corruption, strengthen border control monitoring, share intelligence information regionally, harmonize preventative regulations among source, transit and destination countries, enhance law enforcement efforts against transnational crimes and effectively implement the Anti-Terrorism law.
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