THE Naval Command Western Mindanao (NCWM) has arrested 24 individuals as they seized a shipment of some P170.1 million worth of smuggled cigarettes off the province of Sulu, an official said Monday, August 17, 2026.
Rear Admiral Constancio Arturo Reyes Jr., NCWM commander, said the shipment of smuggled cigarettes was seized around 10:30 p.m. Friday, August 14, off Buton Mahablo village, Parang, Sulu.
Reyes did not identified the 24 people arrested except to say five of them are crew of M/L Princess Ailyn and the other 19 are laborers hired to unload the smuggled cigarettes.
Reyes said the personnel of Naval Task Force (NTF)-61 were conducting maritime patrol when they chanced upon M/L Princess Ailyn with people unloading boxes of cigarettes to motorboats to be transported to their respective destinations.
He said seized from the wooden-hulled vessel were several master cases of undocumented foreign-brand cigarettes with an estimated value of P170.1 million.
The vessel was escorted to the Majini Pier of Naval Station Romulo Espaldon that houses the headquarters of the NCWM in Calarian village, Zamboanga City.
The vessel and the cargo were turned over to the Bureau of Customs for proper disposition and appropriate legal action.
Authorities are conducting investigation to determine ownership of the smuggled cigarettes. (SunStar Zamboanga)