Coast Guard seizes P2.1-M smuggled cigarettes in Cebu


COAST Guard personnel examine boxes of smuggled imported cigarettes intercepted in Oslob, Cebu. (PCG 7 photo)
CEBU CITY – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) seized Monday, August 1, boxes of smuggled imported cigarettes valued at P2.1 million in Oslob, Cebu.

They were intercepted by personnel of the Coast Guard Sub-Station Oslob and Coast Guard Intelligence Group-Central Visayas at Mainit Port.

According to the Philippine Coast Guard-Central Visayas, the boxes of cigarettes were loaded in a wing van type truck on board M/V Lite Ferry 17.

The PCG 7 said the shipment came from Zamboanga and was ferried from the port of Dapitan City.

The cigarettes were misdeclared as canned goods. They were stuffed in boxes with markings of a brand of sardines probably to avoid detection, the PCG 7 said.

The confiscated goods were turned over to Bureau of Customs in Cebu for proper disposition, the PCG 7 said.