Military intercepts smuggled sugar shipment off Zamboanga

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - The military intercepted and seized more than P3.1 million worth of smuggled sugar off a coastal village here on Sunday.

The combined elements of the Joint Task Group Zamboanga, Naval Intelligence Service Group, Air Force 304th Air Intelligence Service Group and naval force launched the operation based on intelligence gathered on smuggling.

Security forces on board two multipurpose attack craft of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao intercepted the M/L Fatima Radz-Auna and its crew of nine in the waters off Arena Blanco past midnight Sunday.

The security forces immediately boarded and searched the vessel. They found that it was loaded with more or less 1,500 5-kg sacks of smuggled sugar with an estimated market value of Php3,150,000.

The crew of the motorlaunch could not present import documents on the shipment of sugar, which came from Sandakan in Sabah.

The M/L Fatima Radz-Auna and the smuggled goods were immediately escorted to the Zamboanga port area for proper turnover to the Bureau of Customs.