P95M smuggled cigarettes intercepted in Sulu

SMUGGLED cigarettes worth P95 million were confiscated in Siasi, Sulu last Sunday, the Bureau of Customs (BoC) reported on Wednesday. The 2,727 master cases of Cannon and Fort cigarettes, which did not have proper importation permits from the National Tobacco Administration, were confiscated from a motorboat by the BoC and the Naval Task Group Sulu. “The operation stemmed from a confidential information received by authorities that more or less 3,000 alleged smuggled cigarettes were onboard ML Three Brothers anchored in the vicinity waters off Siasi Sulu,” BoC said, describing it as the “biggest haul in the history of the Port of Zamboanga.” — Beatrice M. Laforga