Navy personnel seize P21M smuggled cigarettes off Davao Occidental

PHILIPPINE Navy personnel intercepted a banca loaded with P21 million worth of smuggled cigarettes and apprehended seven of its crew members off Davao Occidental recently.

The Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao (NFEM) announced last Tuesday night the apprehension of the banca, marked Vikings, about 10 nautical miles from the shoreline of Balut Island last May 22.

Navy personnel on board BRP Dioscoro were conducting a maritime patrol in the area when they spotted the “suspicious” banca in the area, said NFEM spokesman Lt. Cdr. Jerome Bryan Mauring.

“Seven Filipino crews were arrested and approximately 422 master cases of smuggled cigarettes were seized,” said Mauring, adding the cigarettes were due to be shipped to Digos City, Davao del Sur.