A shipment of PHP596,000 worth of smuggled cigarettes was again confiscated in Zamboanga del Norte on Friday, bringing to PHP3.9 million the worth of contraband seized by authorities this week.
In a report, Police Regional Office (PRO) 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) Director, Brig. Gen. Franco Simborio, said the shipment was seized along the national highway in Barangay Poblacion, Sindangan town of the province at about 3:50 a.m.
Simborio said they arrested the truck driver Basar Hassan, 46, and truckman Appay Sangkahan, 40, residents of barangays Talon-Talon and Mampang in this city, respectively.
He said Sindangan policemen were implementing the election gun ban at a checkpoint when they flagged down the Isuzu Elf truck driven by Hassan.
Policemen noticed the two acting suspiciously, prompting them to inspect the cargo of the truck that turned out to be smuggled cigarettes covered with plastic containers.
Simborio said the two failed to present documents of their cargo, which consisted of 54 master cases and 50 reams of assorted cigarettes worth PHP596,000.
He said the two, along with the boxes of smuggled cigarettes and the vehicle, were placed under the custody of the Sindangan municipal police station for proper disposition.
Friday’s confiscation was the third shipment of smuggled cigarettes that authorities seized in the region this week.
The first, worth PHP2.2 million, was seized here on Sunday, and the second, worth PHP1.2 million, was confiscated in Dumingag, Zamboanga del Sur on Tuesday.
Source: Philippines News Agency
