Imported cigarettes worth P4.9M seized in Jolo

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel intercepted a cargo vessel loaded with P4.9 million worth of imported cigarettes shortly after it left Jolo town in Sulu province on its way to this city on Monday afternoon.

Lt. Cmdr. Noriel Ramos, chief of PCG Zamboanga City Station, said PCG personnel found 85 boxes of cigarettes from Malaysia after inspecting MV Maria Rebecca, a cargo vessel operated by Montenegro Shipping Lines.

Ramos said the PCG turned over the cigarettes to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Monday.

The shipment consisted of 69 boxes of New Menthol LS and 16 boxes of Fort White.

“We leave it to customs officials [to check the company’s import permit] … Those cigarettes are imported, so we intercepted the vessel,” he said. The BOC said the importers had yet to appear in its office on Tuesday. —Julie Alipala