ZAMBOANGA CITY -Lawmen have seized a total of PHP4.93 million worth of smuggled cigarettes and arrested seven people in two separate anti-smuggling campaigns in the Zamboanga Peninsula during the week, a top police official said Saturday. Brig. Gen. Franco Simborio, Police Regional Office 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) director, said the bulk of the smuggled cigarettes were seized in an intelligence-driven anti-smuggling operation in Barangay Cabatangan, this city at about 8:10 a.m. on Tuesday. Simborio said the smuggled cigarettes, worth PHP4.23 million and loaded in a closed van covered with packs of assorted puffed corn snacks, were seized by operatives of the police, military, and Bureau of Customs (BOC). Three people were arrested. They were identified as Khan Jawari Adin, 24, the van driver, and two spotters aboard a motorcycle - Aldin Sabtal, 30, and Bensharif Bari, 32. He said the confiscated smuggled cigarettes were supposed to be delivered to a warehouse in Barangay Divisoria here.
Authorities seized some P4.2 million worth of smuggled cigarettes in a joint buy-bust operation in Barangay Cabatangan, Zamboanga City, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Wednesday.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Tuesday said it seized some P20-million worth of smuggled cigarettes in a joint buy-bust operation Davao del Sur last week.