P11.1-M worth of cigarettes found in Zamboanga City warehouse

COTABATO CITY — Policemen seized P11.2 million worth of imported cigarettes found inside a makeshift warehouse in Barangay Patalon in Zamboanga City in an anti-illegal smuggling operation on Wednesday night, the Police Regional Office-9 reported on Friday.

Brig. Gen. Bowenn Joey Masauding, director of PRO-9, was quoted in radio reports here on Friday morning as saying that the 195 boxes of cigarettes with Indonesian brands, worth P11.1 million, were found by policemen in a small storage facility along Parfamco Drive in Barangay Patalon, a residential area in Zamboanga City.

The operation that resulted in the confiscation of the smuggled cigarettes was launched after villagers had reported about the presence of a mini warehouse in the area where smuggled cigarettes are stored.

Masauding said the units involved in the operation had turned over the contraband to the Bureau of Customs for its disposition.

Masauding said he is thankful to the vigilant residents of Patalon who led personnel of the Zamboanga City Police Office and PRO-9 to the exact location of the building where the contraband was kept.