Marine troops seize P300,000 smuggled cigarettes

PERSONNEL of the Marine Battalion Landing Team-11 (MBLT-11) have seized some P300,000 worth of smuggled cigarettes in Zamboanga City, the police reported Saturday, September 10, 2022.

Police Colonel Alexander Lorenzo, Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) director, said the smuggled cigarettes were seized around 5:45 a.m. Thursday, September 8, at the seaside of Baliwasan village, Zamboanga City.

Lorenzo said the MBLT-11 troops were manning a checkpoint when they intercepted a “Bajaj trike” loaded with 171 reams of undocumented cigarettes worth P300,000.

Lorenzo said the MBLT-11 troops seized and brought the cigarettes to the ZCPO’s Station 11 after the driver failed to present documents of his cargo.

He said the confiscated smuggled cigarettes were turned over to the custody of the Bureau of Customs for proper disposition.

Lorenzo recognized the efforts of the MBLT-11 operating troops in the anti-smuggling campaign in this city.

“Sa pamamagitan ng pagtutulungan ng ating Kapulisan at AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), makakamit natin ang pagkakaisa tungo sa Kaunlaran (Through the cooperation of our police and AFP, we can achieve unity towards Development),” he added. (SunStar Zamboanga)