ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Smuggled cigarettes with an estimated value of P10.2 million were seized by naval security personnel in the waters off Sulu on Friday night.
The contraband was loaded in a Malaysian-style boat called jungkong, which was intercepted by personnel of the Navy’s 1st Boat Attack Division near the coast of Mauboh in Patikul town.
The boat, which had four crewmembers, was escorted toward the Ensign Majini Pier at the Naval Station Romulo Espaldon in this city, according to Commodore Francisco Tagamolila Jr., chief of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao (NFWM).
The boxes of cigarettes were turned over to the Bureau of Customs (BoC) for proper disposition.
Tagamolila said the NFWM and BoC inspected and conducted an inventory of the goods. He said the seizure of the contraband was part of an intensified campaign of the NFWM against smuggling.
A K-9 team of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency also checked the contraband for possible presence of illegal drugs.