THE Western Mindanao Naval Command (WMNC) seized a huge shipment of contrabands worth millions of pesos off Tawi-Tawi, a top WMNC official said Tuesday, September 30, 2025.
Rear Admiral Constancio Arturo Reyes Jr., commander of WMNC, said the huge shipment of contrabands was seized Monday, September 29, off Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi.
Reyes said the sailors aboard BRP-Juan Magluyan (PC-392) were conducting maritime patrol when then spotted a wooden-hulled vessel named M/L Fatima Radzna-Juliet with 10-man crew anchored in a lagoon.
When inspected, Reyes said the vessel was found carrying assorted undocumented goods consisting of 3,000 sacks of 25-kilo rice, 400 bags of 50-kilo refined sugar, 200 boxes of biscuits, 300 boxes of noodles, 100 cases of bottled water, two boxes of coffee, and two boxes of soy sauce.
The worth of the confiscated contrabands, which came from Malaysia, is believed to be millions of pesos.
The prevailing price of 25-kilo sack of rice is from P1,200 to over P1,700 while refined sugar ranges from P4,250 to P4,500 per 50-kilo sack.
The apprehending personnel believed that some of the contrabands have unloaded since M/L Fatima Radzna-Juliet was already anchored in a lagoon at the time of the apprehension.
The vessel along with its cargos was brought to Naval Station Romulo Espaldon in Calarian, Zamboanga City for processing to ascertain the value of the confiscated contrabands and turnover to concerned government agencies.
The WMNC has intensified its anti-smuggling campaign that resulted to the series of apprehension of smuggled goods in the southern part of the country. (SunStar Zamboanga)