PAGADIAN CITY – The Philippine Coast Guard seized over P21 million worth of smuggled cigarettes from a fishing boat off the southern island of Olutanga in Zamboanga Sibugay province.
It said a patrol vessel owned by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources manned by the Coast Guard and BFAR personnel spotted the MPF TRD Express on March 18 and inspected the suspicious boat and discovered the contraband.
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Philippine Coast Guard photos show the confiscated contraband seized off Olutanga town in Zamboanga Sibugay province.
“The fishing vessel, MPD TRD Express, was found to be carrying approximately 350 boxes of undocumented cigarettes and was subsequently apprehended. The vessel and its illegal cargo were turned over to the Bureau of Customs for proper disposition and filing of the case,” the Coast Guard said on March 20.
It did not say how many crew members the fishing boat had or the identity of the smuggler's owner or even its consignee.
Last month, the Philippine Navy also confiscated over P398 million worth of smuggled cigarettes from a cargo ship M/V Samson off the southern province of Tawi-Tawi.
The vessel, manned by 10 Indonesian crew members, was intercepted on Feb. 1, and only reported by the Navy on Feb. 22 for still unknown reasons. The cargo ship was loaded with over 10,000 cases of cigarettes and was turned over to the Bureau of Customs here on Feb. 10. (Mindanao Examiner)
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