Smuggled cigarettes intercepted off Zamboanga high seas
Credit to Author: JULMUNIR I. JANNARAL, TMT| Date: Tue, 01 Oct 2019 16:40:36 +0000
COTABATO CITY: The Philippine Navy troops seized 100 cases of smuggled cigarettes worth P4 million from a watercraft intercepted off the waters of Zamboanga on Saturday.
Rear Admiral Erick Kagaoan, commander of Naval Forces Western Mindanao, on Tuesday said Navy men intercepted MV Champion carrying smuggled cigarettes — Fort, Canon Menthol, Bravo and Astro — from Indonesia to Sulu through a pre-arranged watercraft on Saturday evening.
“The boat was loaded with more or less 100 cases of imported Fort and other assorted cigarettes with an estimated market value of P4 million,” he said on Tuesday.
He said the smuggled items had no internal revenue stamps, violating Section 6 of Republic Act 8240 and the Customs Law.
He said MV Champion, reportedly owned by Elvison Judaini, a native of Jolo town in Sulu province, was apprehended over the weekend at a private wharf in the village of Lower Calarian.
Two boatmen, Kadil Al-Amin Jilhano and Azmil Bin Jerry, including its skipper identified only by his alias Boy, were being investigated.
MV Champion was brought at Ensign Majini Pier in Bagong Calarian prior its turnover to the Bureau of Customs for proper disposition.
“Naval troops sustain their maritime interdictions and other operations to curb and preempt smuggling and other illegal activities in the operational area,” said Kagaoan.
“We will not tolerate smuggling and illegal activities that impede trade and economic growth in Mindanao. We are impelled to bolster our naval operations to end illegal activities and lawlessness in the area,” said Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of Western Mindanao Command.
With a reports from AL JACINTO