In separate anti-smuggling operations in Zamboanga Peninsula and Sulu, officials reported that they seized a total of P92.2 million worth of smuggled cigarettes.
According to the commander of the Coast Guard District Southwestern Mindanao, Commodore Marco Antonio Gines, P2.1 million worth of smuggled cigarettes were confiscated on Monday at the Galas feeder port in Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte, during the latest apprehensions made by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).
The boarding team of the Dipolog City coast guard substation team confiscated the assorted smuggled cigarettes, which were hidden in a delivery van using 32 bags of rice bran, according to Gines.
The illegal goods were turned over to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for proper disposal.
Brig. Gen. Neil Alinsagan, director of the Police Regional Office-9 (Zamboanga Peninsula), announced shortly before noon that a van carrying PHP 120,980 in smuggled cigarettes was stopped at a police checkpoint in Barangay Ilaya, Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte.
Alinsagan said that the van driver, Danilo Josol, was arrested after failing to show documentation for his merchandise.
Rear Adm. Donn Anthony Miraflor, commander of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao (NFWM), said over the weekend that on February 18, NFWM operatives intercepted a wooden-hulled vessel loaded with contraband 1,600 yards northeast of BJ wharf in Indanan, Sulu.
When inspected, ML Haiban was found to be loaded with 4,500 master cases and 225,000 reams of assorted smuggled cigarettes worth PHP 92 million, according to Miraflor.
Meanwhile, when the ML Habain was intercepted, it was manned by an 11-man crew and skippered by Eddie Taugiag.
According to Miraflor, the vessel, including its cargo and crew, was escorted to Patikul's Mauboh Pier on Sunday and turned over to the custody of the BOC-Sulu for appropriate disposition.
