AUTHORITIES have arrested two persons as they seized a shipment of some P25 million worth of smuggled cigarettes in an intelligence-driven anti-smuggling operation in Zamboanga City, the police said Monday, July 7, 2025.
The police identified the two arrested persons as Vicente Garcia, 33, driver; and Mhadzfar Muharram, 37, truckman.
Police Colonel Fidel Fortaleza Jr., Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) director, said the suspects were arrested by personnel of the 2nd Zamboanga City Mobile Force Company (2ZCMFC) around 7:40 a.m. Monday, July 7, along R.T. Lim Boulevard, Baliwasan village, Zamboanga City.
Fortaleza said the 2ZCMFC personnel were conducting a checkpoint operation when they flagged down an enclosed van for inspection.
“A routine inspection reveals the vehicle has no valid documents. The driver displayed evasive behavior, which led to his admission that the vehicle contained boxes of cigarettes,” Fortaleza said.
He said the driver and the truckman were arrested while the vehicle and cargo were seized after they failed to present proper documents of the goods they were transporting.
The smuggled cigarettes allegedly came from the province of Sulu and had just arrived when it was seized in Zamboanga City.
The confiscated contraband will be turned over to the Bureau of Customs-Port of Zamboanga for proper disposition. (SunStar Zamboanga)