Zamboanga seaborne cops seize P5-M worth of imported cigarettes

COTABATO CITY — The police seized P5 million worth of imported cigarettes from Indonesia in a seaborne anti-smuggling operation in Zamboanga City late Wednesday.

Brig. Gen. Brig. Gen. Bowenn Joey Masauding, director of the Police Regional Office-9, told reporters on Thursday that the motorboat carrying 100 large boxes of cigarettes, worth P5 million, was intercepted near Manalipa Island in Zamboanga City.

The four boatmen who were out to deliver the cigarettes with Indonesian brands to a contact in Zamboanga City jumped overboard and swam away when they noticed a police patrol boat approaching their watercraft.

The operation that resulted in the confiscation of the cigarettes was carried out with the help of the Police Regional Maritime Unit 9, according to Masauding.

Masauding said the abandoned boat carrying the smuggled cigarettes was immediately towed to a seaside police detachment, where its cargo was unloaded for safekeeping.

Masauding said he has directed the PRO-9 units involved in the operation to turnover to the Bureau of Customs the seized imported cigarettes for its disposition.