AUTHORITIES have seized a shipment worth around P840,000 of smuggled cigarettes in Jolo, the capital town of Sulu, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.
The Coast Guard Station (CGS)-Western Sulu said the shipment was seized at 6:49 p.m. Sunday, December 28, aboard a passenger vessel moored at the port of Jolo.
The smuggled cigarettes were discovered while CGS-Western Sulu personnel were conducting port security and cargo inspection operations.
The vessel was set to depart Jolo for Zamboanga City when the shipment was seized.
The cigarettes were found in 13 boxes and a traveling bag that were secretly loaded onto the vessel without proper documents.
No one claimed ownership of the contraband, the CGS-Western Sulu said.
The seized cigarettes consisted of 348 reams with an estimated market value of P840,000.
The confiscated items were turned over to the Bureau of Customs Sub-Port of Jolo on Monday, December 29, for proper disposition. (SunStar Zamboanga)