Tawi Tawi: Some 1,249.18 litres of gasoline worth Php64,200 was seized by a police seaborne patrol off the Municipality of Sitangkai, here, on August 2.
The smuggled gasoline loaded in a fishing boat reportedly came from neighbouring Sabah.
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“Our policemen in the area intercepted and seized some smuggled gasoline off Sitangkai,” Western Mindanao Command Area Police Operations Chief P/Col. Richard Verceles said.
He said the policemen were conducting sea-borne patrol when they chanced upon a fishing boat named F/B Dhal-Qhalip.
“Upon inspection, the fishing boat manned by a two-man crew was found loaded with gasoline placed in plastic gallons and drums,” he added.
Verceles identified the arrested crew as Sakib Ahmad Sakaluran, 48, the skipper, and his assistant, Masri Ilahan Mustafa, 20.
Both are residents of Dungon village, Panglima Sugala, in Tawi-Tawi.
Verceles said the smuggled gasoline came from Sandakan in Sabah, adding the suspects will be charged for violation of the Republic Act 10863.
It was recently reported that subsidised fuel from Sabah is a hot item sold by roadside in Mindanao.
How the item, among others, end up being smuggled remains a mystery despite the strict monitoring of Sabah waters by the enforcement agencies.
