P36.3 million worth of smuggled cigarettes seized in Zambo City

[ASEAN NOW News]

SMUGGLED CIGARETTES. A composite team of officers seize some P36.3 million worth of smuggled cigarettes Tuesday (Jan. 25, 2022) in Barangay Kasanyangan, Zamboanga City. Col. Alexander Lorenzo, city police director, was leading a follow-up operation on a shooting incident when they uncovered an unattended warehouse containing 1,038 master cases of assorted smuggled cigarettes in the area. (Photo courtesy of ZCPO)

 

ZAMBOANGA CITY – A composite team of officers on Tuesday seized some PHP36.3 million worth of smuggled cigarettes in this southern port city, according to a top police official.

 

Col. Alexander Lorenzo, Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) director, said the smuggled cigarettes were seized around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at Dastun Drive, Barangay Kasanyangan.

 

Lorenzo was leading a follow-up investigation of a shootout incident in Barangay Kasanyangan that injured four people, including two children, when they stumbled upon the contraband.

 

He said the victims were hit by stray bullets on Monday night while they were buying street food when two unidentified gunmen engaged in a shootout in the area.

 

Lorenzo immediately coordinated with other concerned government agencies, including the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative (Zamcelco), over the incident when they chanced upon the unattended warehouse in Dastun Drive, Kasanyangan, containing several boxes of cigarettes.

 

A total of 1,038 master cases of assorted smuggled cigarettes worth PHP36.3 million were recovered from the warehouse by the composite team.

 

The combined team of officers included those from the ZCPO, Bureau of Customs (BOC), Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC)-Western Mindanao, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), 1st and 2nd Zamboanga City Mobile Force Companies, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-9 (CIDG-9), Regional Special Operations Unit-9 (RSOU-9), Criminal Investigation and Detective Management (CIDM), and Regional Civil Security Unit-9.

 

Lorenzo said the investigation continues to determine the owner of the warehouse and the contraband, which were turned over to the BOC for proper disposition. (PNA)

 

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