The Philippine Navy has confiscated some ₱27.8 million worth of smuggled cigarettes from a motorized banca intercepted off the coast of Basilan last week.
Elements of the Western Mindanao Naval Command’s (WMNC) Naval Task Force 61 made the seizure during routine maritime security patrols south of Amoyloi Reefs, Ungkaya Pukan in Basilan.
The haul consisted of 484 master cases, 32 reams, and 129 packs of Bravo Red cigarettes, all without proper government documentation.
The seized items were taken to the at Naval Station Romulo Espaldon and turned over to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for proper disposition.
The WMNC said it remained steadfast in its commitment to safeguard the nation’s maritime borders and to support the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ mandate in the government’s intensified campaign against smuggling and other unlawful maritime activities in Western Mindanao.
