ZAMBOANGA CITY — Authorities have arrested three persons and seized about P36.7 million worth of smuggled cigarettes in this city, police reported Saturday.

Col. Fidel Fortaleza Jr., city police director, identified the arrested individuals only as Eding, 54, of Bongao, Tawi-Tawi; Alwijar, 33, of Panamao, Sulu; and Basar, 35, also of Panamao. The suspects were arrested along with the contraband at a private wharf in Barangay Campo Islam at 9:50 a.m. on Friday.

Before the arrest and confiscation, local police received information from an informant indicating that a motorboat would dock at the private wharf to unload a variety of smuggled cigarettes.

“Our operatives saw that assorted master cases of cigarettes were being unloaded from the motorboat, ML J-Minda, when they arrived at the private wharf,” Fortaleza said in his report, adding that confiscated were 642 master cases of assorted brands of cigarettes.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/05/04/regions/p367m-smuggled-cigarettes-seized/2105164