Marines prevent smuggling of goods from Sulu to Lanao del Sur
Local News • 06:30 AM Tue Jan 28, 2020
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By:
John M. Unson
The intercepted contraband had been turned over to the police. (Contributed photo)
COTABATO CITY --- Members of the 5th Marine Battalion foiled Sunday an attempt to smuggle from Sulu some P3 million worth of cigarettes and other consumer goods to the seaside Malabang town in Lanao del Sur.
Army Major Gen Diosdado Carreon of the anti-crime Task Force Central said Monday four Tausug boatmen, Usman Hadjirul, 37, Madjid Hussin Pustahan, 35, Omar Hadjirul, 40, and the 26-year-old Faisal Amat, have been detained.
Their 17-year-old companion is now in the joint custody of the police and the social welfare office under the Malabang local government unit.
Carreon, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division controlling Philippine Marine Units in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur provinces, said Marine servicemen had spotted the small watercraft from Sulu while approaching the seaside Barangay Mable in Malabang, enabling them to stop the delivery of the smuggled merchandise.
Carreon said local officials helped in the prompt interception of the illegal shipment.