Combined operatives from the police and the Bureau of Customs intercepted more than ₱ 7.5M worth of cigarettes, sans documents, aboard a watercraft locally known as jungkong plying the waters off Sinunuc, Thursday, December 2.
In a report submitted to City Police Director PCol. Rexmel Reyes and copy furnished to Mayor Beng Climaco, Mobile Force Company Commander PLtCol Reynald Arino said the operation was a combined effort of the ZCMFC “Seaborne” and personnel from the BOC, Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) and Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) in line with the intensified campaign on border control against illegal entry and smuggling activities.
Arino said the subject jungkong, a motorized wooden watercraft, was marked MJ/ DS Cruiser and was loaded with a total of 214 master cases and 20 reams of Fort White cigarettes with estimated market value of P7,504,000.00. It came from Jolo, Sulu and was bound for Sinunuc with 2 crew members, all residents of Jolo. The crew failed to present documents to prove legality of the cargoes.
The cigarettes, along with the crew and the Jungkong were turned over to the BOC for proper disposition after the conduct of visual inspection.
(Source: City Government of Zamboanga Facebook page, photo courtesy of ZCMFC | ZCPO)
