ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/16 August) – The Philippine Navy has intercepted a shipment of P10-million worth of contraband goods that came from Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia, a top military official disclosed Thursday.
Rear Admiral Armando Guzman, Naval Forces Western Mindanao (NFWM) command chief, citing a belated report, said the shipment was intercepted Thursday last week at vicinity 1.
2 nautical miles west of Tulian Island, Sulu.
Guzman said the troops aboard Patrol Gunboat-118 known as BRP-Emilio Liwanag were on maritime law enforcement operation when they spotted M/L Al-Kausar steaming towards the port of Jolo, the capital of Sulu province.
When inspected, Guzman said the troops found out that M/L Al-Kausar is loaded with 485 bales of used clothing (ukay-ukay), 3,000 sacks of rice, 300 cases of K2 soft drinks, 183 boxes of Sedaap noodles, 100 boxes of Maggi Kari, 115 bags of pancit/udang noodles, 30 boxes of white candles (BT lights), and 200 boxes of cooking oil.
Hudri Darusalam, the skipper of M/L Al-Kausar, failed to present documents of the cargo shipment, Guzman said.
The vessel is owned and operated by Albasher Salim Sangka of Basbas, Languyan municipality, Tawi-Tawi, he said.
Guzman said the vessel was escorted to the port of Jolo and the confiscated contrabands goods were turned over to the Bureau of Customs. (MindaNews)