The Philippine Coast Guard said Tuesday, Nov. 15, that it has seized 299 reams of allegedly smuggled “Casablanca” cigarettes amounting to P209,300 which were concealed in packages aboard a passenger ship in Siasi, Sulu.

The PCG said the items were intercepted by two coast guard sea marshals during a roving inspection of MV Ever Queen of the Pacific last Sunday while it was underway from the Port of Siasi to the Port of Zamboanga.

The cigarettes were found inside 10 boxes and six bags which were left unattended inside the ship. The items were suspected to be smuggled from other countries.

“Paneling procedures are carried out by Coast Guard K9 personnel to make sure that allegedly smuggled cigarettes do not contain illegal substances or improvised explosive devices (IEDs),” the PCG said.

After securing the packages, the PCG personnel turned it over to Bureau of Customs (BOC) personnel on Monday for proper disposition.

The PCG said an investigation was ongoing to determine the suspect behind the transportation of the cigarettes.