Navy seizes P13.8M 'smuggled' cigarettes in Davao del Norte
The Philippine Navy (PN) has intercepted a “jungkung” vessel or fishing boat (FB) which carried P13.8 million worth of allegedly smuggled cigarettes off the Island Garden City of Samal, Davao del Norte over the weekend.
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*Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao, Philippine Navy)
* Commodore Carlos Sabarre, commander of Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao, said “FB ALYASRA-2” was flagged by personnel from the Naval Task Force 71, Naval Special Operations Unit 7, and Bureau of Customs in Davao Region (BOC-11) on Sunday evening, July 9. “The apprehended vessel, FB ALYASRA-2 was discovered to be transporting a total of 468 master cases of Canon brand smuggled cigarettes with an aggregated street value of P13,806,000,” Sabarre said on Tuesday, July 11. An initial report from the Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao showed that the contrabands were transported by 10 crew members of FB ALYASRA-2 from Sulu. The cigarettes were allegedly intended to dock in Davao City before the boat was intercepted by the authorities for a routine inspection. The vessel was brought to Naval Station Felix Apolinario in Panacan, Davao City for temporary custody. Meanwhile, all the crew members were taken to Camp Panacan Hospital for a medical check-up. They were turned over to BOC-11 for the filing of appropriate charges.