JOINT police and military operatives seized a shipment of smuggled cigarettes with an estimated value of P1.06 million in Zamboanga City, an official said.
Police Captain Edwin Duco, Police Regional Office-Zamboanga Peninsula information officer, said the shipment was intercepted by the operatives around 10:20 p.m. Wednesday, December 16, in Sangali village.
Duco said the troops were manning a checkpoint when they discovered through a visual inspection that the KIA Bonggo-type of vehicle driven by Nasul Salim was loaded with boxes of assorted cigarettes.
Duco said Salim failed to show documents to prove the legality of the shipment, prompting the troops to confiscate the cargoes and impound the vehicle.
He said initial inventory showed that the vehicle driven by Salim was loaded with 53 master cases of assorted cigarettes liked New Merlin, Cannon, Royal, and Ford.
The smuggled cigarettes were placed in the temporarily custody of the Zamboanga City Police Office's (ZCPO) Station 3 and to be turned over later to the Bureau of Customs for proper disposition. (SunStar Zamboanga)