
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) - Port of Zamboanga (POZ) has seized P5.8 million worth of smuggled fuel products in a vessel in Zamboanga City.
In a statement, the BOC said the vessel, marked as M/L Zshahuny II, was apprehended while unloading fuel in Barangay Cawit, Zamboanga City on Sept. 9.
“When asked to present documents to prove the lawful importation of the fuel, they were unable to present any,” it stated.
Authorities said they received an intelligence report that a vessel that departed from Taganak Island, Tawi-Tawi bound for Zamboanga City, was carrying smuggled fuel products.
Seized from the vessel were 89,600 liters of Diesel Fuel worth approximately P5.8 million, and the vessel itself has an estimated value of P3 million.
According to the BOC, the captain and crew of M/L Zshahuny II, and other facilitators of the fuel smuggling have been profiled for the filing of appropriate charges.
“The vessel and its cargo are now under the custody of the BOC for the conduct of seizure and forfeiture proceeding for violating Sections 1113 (f), (g) and (l) (1) of the CMTA, in relation to Sections 107 (Value-added Tax on Importation of Goods), 148 (Excise Tax on Manufactured Oils and Other Fuels) and 148-A (Mandatory Marking of All Petroleum Products) of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC), as amended.”
The Port of Zamboanga will continue to be relentless in preventing and apprehending smuggling activities in the region, District Collector Arthur G. Sevilla Jr. vowed.