The Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao (NFEM) on Wednesday intercepted a motor launch loaded with ₱43.5 million worth of undocumented foreign-brand cigarettes off the coast of Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur.
In a statement on Friday, the Philippine Navy (PN) stated that a SEAL Team from the Naval Special Warfare Unit 7 (NSWU7) and a vessel from the 3rd Boat Attack Division were deployed to verify the presence of a Jungkong-type watercraft suspected of illegal activities in the waters of Barangay Bato.
The responding units conducted a maritime law enforcement and interdiction operation and later spotted the vessel identified as M/L Fatima Shakira.
When the crew failed to respond to a radio challenge, Navy personnel boarded the suspect vessel.
Their inspection revealed that M/L Fatima Shakira, owned by Alsamer Jafaar of Lantawan, Basilan, and manned by 12 Filipino crew members, was carrying 1,107 boxes of foreign-brand cigarettes without proper documentation.
The contraband, valued at ₱43.5 million, is considered a violation of Republic Act No. 10863, or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act of 2016.
The vessel’s skipper, identified as Master Nurhan Sabtula, admitted during questioning that the smuggled cigarettes originated from North Sulawesi, Indonesia, and were bound for Barangay Bato, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur.
