P13.8-M smuggled rice seized in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi
ZAMBOANGA CITY - Two ships loaded smuggled rice worth P13.8 million were apprehended off Tawi-Tawi and Sulu provinces, according to a Philippine Navy official Saturday.
Rear Admiral Jesus Millan, chief of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao (NFWM), said elements of the Naval Task Force 61 initially intercepted M/L Sea Dayang loaded with 6,000 sacks of rice (50 kilo each) near Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, late January.
Millan said board and search procedure conducted by the elements of the Navy uncovered sacks of imported rice aboard the vessel.
A week after, another vessel -- M/L JF Expressed -- was also intercepted and apprehended by the Task Force 61 near Pangutaran, Sulu and was discovered loaded with 2,750 sacks of rice (25 kilos each).
Millan said that the two rice shipments had no proper documentations.
The seized rice shipments and the ships have been turned over to the Bureau of Customs' regional office in Zamboanga.
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