Zamboanga city: About PHP6.8 million worth of smuggled cigarettes were seized in separate law enforcement operations in this city, authorities reported Friday. Of the total confiscation, PHP5.3 million worth of smuggled cigarettes were seized by the Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) on Thursday, and the remaining PHP1.5 million by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on the same day.

According to Philippines News Agency, Col. Fidel Fortaleza Jr., ZCPO director, stated that the PHP5.3 million worth of smuggled cigarettes was seized in a raid at a warehouse in Omar Drive, Barangay Talon-Talon. No arrests were made as the owner or caretaker of the warehouse fled upon sensing the arriving policemen. Seized from the warehouse were 355 master cases of assorted cigarette brands.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard, through the Coast Guard Station (CGS)-Zamboanga, seized PHP1.5 million worth of smuggled cigarettes in the waters off Barangay Maasin. The CGS-Zamboanga personnel were conducting a maritime patrol when they spotted a motorboat sailing toward the shore of Maasin, which upon inspection, was found to be carrying the contraband. After an orderly inspection, the Coast Guard team promptly towed the watercraft to Paniran Wharf near Coast Guard Station Zamboanga for custody, inventory, and proper disposition.