AUTHORITIES have intercepted another shipment of smuggled sugar as the anti-smuggling campaign has been intensified in Mindanao, an official said Monday, August 20.

Lieutenant Commander Noriel Ramos, Zamboanga Coast Guard Station commander, said the shipment was intercepted around 7:30 p.m. Sunday, August 19, in between Hadji Muhtamad, Basilan and in the village of Cawit, Zamboanga City.

The apprehension came following the reported sighting of wooden-hulled vessel, M/B Fatima Shakira, believed to be loaded with smuggled cargoes, said Ramos.

He said M/B Fatima Shakira, skippered by Kaiser Jaafar, came from Jolo, Sulu, and was en route to Zamboanga City when it was intercepted by a joint team of Coast Guard and Customs personnel.

When inspected, the vessel was found to be loaded with some 1,700 sacks of smuggled sugar with an estimated value of P3.4 million. Each sack weighs 50 kilos.

Ramos said the vessel was escorted to the port of Zamboanga and was turned over to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for appropriate action.

Sunday's apprehension was the second in a week's time in Mindanao.

The first was on August 13 when the Philippine Coast Guard rescued a wooden-hulled vessel in distress near the island town of Mapun in the province of Tawi-Tawi.

The vessel, M/L Sabrina, and its cargo consisting of 5,000 sacks of smuggled sugar worth P10 million were turned over on August 18 to the BOC in Zamboanga City. (SunStar Philippines)