P1.7-M worth imported cigarettes seized in Zamboanga del Norte

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Barangay officials and policemen together seized P1.7 million worth of smuggled cigarettes found in a beachfront area in Liloy, Zamboanga del Norte on Thursday, August 29, supposedly to be delivered to local buyers.

Brig. Gen. Bowenn Joey Masauding, director of the Police Regional Office-9, told reporters on Sunday that the contraband was seen by villagers piled at a seaside area in Barangay Kayok in Liloy, unloaded from a small motorized boat by smugglers.

The seafarers who brought the 30 large boxes of cigarettes with different Indonesian brands hurriedly sailed away when they sensed that personnel of the Liloy Municipal Police Station and barangay officials were approaching their location to check on their reported presence in the area.

Masauding said the seized imported cigarettes shall be turned over to the Bureau of Customs for its disposition.

Masauding said they are thankful to the residents and barangay leaders in Kayok for helping them thwart the attempt by smugglers to distribute their illegal merchandise to contacts in their municipality.