P2.1 million smuggled cigarettes seized

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Police and Bureau of Customs (BOC) personnel seized smuggled cigarettes valued at P2.1 million in this city on Sunday.

Operatives of the Regional Special Operations Unit intercepted a cargo truck, where the cigarettes were loaded, shortly after it left the premises of the Philippine Ports Authority in Barangay Zone 1.

BOC district collector Segundo Sigmunfreud Barte said 48 master cases of cigarettes were found hidden in sacks of dried fish and seaweed.

The truck driver, Abdul Jamal, a resident of Barangay Cawit in Pagadian City, was arrested after he failed to present the necessary documents to transport the goods.

Authorities said the truck came from Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.