P41M-worth of cigarettes seized in Zamboanga
ZAMBOANGA CITY—Some P25 million worth of smuggled cigarettes were seized by police in waters between the islands of Sacol and Manalipa, Friday, September 12, 2025.
In a press release by the Police Regional Office-9, authorities said the contraband was onboard an abandoned boat found around 3 pm by police conducting anti-smuggling operations.
Confiscated were 445 boxes of Fort cigarettes with an estimated market value of ₱25,498,500.00.
The operation was part of the Zamboanga City Mobile Force Company’s intensified campaign against smuggling and other illicit activities.
The confiscated contraband was turned over to the Bureau of Customs at the Port of Zamboanga for proper disposition.
The latest seizure follows the confiscation of yet another haul of assorted cigarettes valued at an estimated P16 million, police also announced.
On September 11, the Zamboanga City Police Station (ZCPS) 4, in coordination with the 1st Special Operating Unit–Maritime Group, Zamboanga City Maritime Police Station, and Regional Mobile Force Battalion (RMFB) 9, confiscated 282 cases of assorted cigarette brands, including Champion, Vess, Astro, Alpen, D & J, Fort, D & J Plus, Bravo and Green Hill, with an estimated market value of ₱16,158,600.00.
The police operation at Sitio Bactus, Barangay Talabaan, Zamboanga City also resulted in the arrest of a 43-year-old policeman from Jolo, Sulu along with the 55-year-old driver of the Isuzu Elf truck loaded with the contraband.
Police Brig. Gen. Eleazar Matta, Regional Director of Police Regional Office (PRO) 9 said they will continue to collaborate closely with the Bureau of Customs(BoC) and other government agencies in their efforts of ramp up the campaign against smuggling.
Matta said the will intensify intelligence-driven patrols aimed at dismantling smuggling syndicates operating in the Zamboanga Peninsula.
“Our commitment to securing our region from illicit activities remains steadfast,” he said. (Frencie Carreon)
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