Bureau of Customs (BoC) operatives on Tuesday reported that they have intercepted a vessel carrying more or less 93 master cases of smuggled cigarettes said to be worth P2.4 million.

The Customs department said in a statement that joint anti-smuggling operations by the BoC, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Task Force Aduana, Naval Intelligence and Security Group Western Mindanao (NISG-WM) and Naval Special Operations Unit (NAVSOU) in the vicinity waters off Istanbak, Lower Calarian, Zamboanga City, yielded the smuggled cigarettes.

According to BOC-Zamboanga District Collector Atty. Segundo Sigmundfreud Z. Barte, Jr., the operation stemmed from information received that undetermined boxes of smuggled cigarettes are on board MJ Champion, a wooden watercraft locally known as “Jungkung” from Jolo, Sulu, bound for distribution in Magay and Sta. Cruz Public Market, Zamboanga City.

A Warrant of Seizure and Detention (WSD) was issued against the smuggled cigarettes for violation of Executive Order No. 245, the Amended Rules and Regulations Governing the Exportation and Importation of Leaf Tobacco and Tobacco Products, and Section 117 of Republic Act No. 10863, otherwise known as Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).

Moreover, a WSD will also be issued against the vessel, MJ Champion, for transporting the smuggled cigarettes which is a violation of Section 1113 of the CMTA.

To recall, BOC-Zamboanga also seized 30 cartons of assorted cigarettes estimated to be worth P900,000.00 loaded in two hatch back type vehicles inside the Pier Area in Zamboanga City.

The smuggled cigarettes were seized after the agency received a tip that some individuals were involved in smuggling in the Magay Public Market, Zamboanga City