Boxes of smuggled cigarettes worth P2.2 million found in a passenger vessel in Jolo, Sulu have been destroyed at the Port of Zamboanga, the Bureau of Customs said yesterday.
A total of 45 boxes of smuggled cigarettes of different brands were destroyed by the Port of Zamboanga last Wednesday following the discovery of the shipment inside the passenger vessel MV Maria Erlinda.
According to Zamboanga District Collector Sigundo Sigmundfreud Barte, the smuggled cigarettes were loaded in the vessel of Montenegro Shipping Lines which arrived in Jolo.
Barte said the discovery of the smuggled cigarettes stemmed from an information received by the bureau, which prompted them to launch an operation conducted by the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service, Enforcement and Security Service, and other enforcement agencies.
This, Barte said, is part of the bureau’s drive to crackdown counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes. He also encouraged civilians to report smuggling operations in order to uncover more smuggling attempts.
The discovery of the P2.2-million smuggled cigarettes was the second operation of the port for this month, Barte said. More than 2,000 reams of smuggled cigarettes were also seized onboard MB Aljin early this month. (Betheena Kae Unite)