After World War II however, Bocalan sold leftover gunpowder to Mindanao merchants in exchange for cigarettes, elevating his socioeconomic status through smuggling and becoming a millionaire at a relatively young age, which attracted many politicians into gaining his support and funding.

They provided him with imported blue-seal cigarettes from Borneo in return, which the merchants acquired easily due to the lack of regulation in the shores of Sulu Sea.

According to President Diosdado Macapagal, top government officials and the Philippine Constabulary in Cavite, including the Provincial Commander Fabian Ver, were involved in Bocalan's operations.

[2][3][4][5] By then, Bocalan shifted his attention towards the gunrunning industry, making large profits by trading with the CIA and the Kuomintang, as well as sending guns and ammunition to the revolutionaries in the island of Sumatra in Indonesia in February 1958, who were intent on overthrowing Sukarno's regime in the country.

[3] Bocalan was a known ally and financier of Justiniano Montano and Ferdinand Marcos, being the principal southern outlet for Ilocano and Chinese syndicate bringing goods from Taiwan and Hong Kong to the Philippines.

According to an interview in 1998, Bocalan, with his extensive knowledge of Sabah, was involved in the operation in which he supposedly funded the project to help Marcos, accounting for the food and salaries of the recruits.

[9][10][11] On 24 September 1972, a day after the televised announcement of Martial Law, Bocalan was put under house arrest at Urdaneta Village in Makati thereby confiscating several guns, in Marcos’ attempt to gain public support through his fair crackdown on smuggling and warlordism, replacing him with Vice Governor Dominador Camerino on 1 October of the same year.