
ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 24, 2012) – Philippine authorities seized over 20,000 litres of fuel from a boat in Zamboanga City and is believed to have been smuggled from the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah.
The fuel was allegedly owned by a Filipino trader province and being unloaded at a private wharf when navy and coast guard teams seized the cargoes.
Authorities said the boat’s captain failed to present documents for the flammable cargoes.
Smuggling of contraband and commercial goods, including rice and textiles, from nearby Malaysia is rampant in the southern Philippines.
And the illegal activities are aggravated by the lack of navy ships to patrol the southern seas and illegal border crossing is similarly rampant in Tawi-Tawi province. (Mindanao Examiner)