THE Customs bureau seized 93 cases of smuggled cigarettes worth P2.4 million from a watercraft off the waters of Zamboanga City in southern Philippines, it said in a statement yesterday.
Customs operatives with the help of police, coast guard and navy personnel intercepted the goods from a wooden watercraft from Jolo, Sulu. The cigarettes were to be distributed at a public market in Zamboanga City, it said.
A seizure warrant will be issued on the smuggled cigarettes for violation of the laws on tobacco imports and Customs modernization, the bureau said.
A warrant will also be issued on the vessel, MJ Champion, for transporting the smuggled cigarettes.
On Sept. 18, the port of Zamboanga also seized 30 cartons of assorted cigarettes worth about P900,000 loaded in two hatchback-type vehicles inside the Pier Area in Zamboanga City.
