ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Police seized 300 sacks of smuggled rice in this city on Tuesday.
Chief Inspector Helen Galvez, Zamboanga peninsula police spokesperson, said a pickup loaded with 200 sacks were seized in Barangay Sinunuc. Another 100 sacks were recovered in a vacant lot.
Galvez said Al-neshar Usman, who claimed to be the owner of the sacks of rice, told police he bought them from a warehouse in Jolo, Sulu.
Usman presented a receipt showing that he paid P40,000 to a certain Hamid Mubin.
Meanwhile, the Naval Force Western Mindanao created an inter-agency task force for the inventory of more than 27,000 sacks of smuggled rice valued at P68 million seized from a Mongolian-flagged carrier off Olutanga, Zamboanga Sibugay last week. The Navy said nobody has claimed ownership of the shipment.