NSFA, Panacan, Davao City —BRP Artemio Ricarte (PS37), one of the Navy ships deployed at the Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao Area of Responsibility seized a motorized banca, MB MHUFAR-3, smuggling 1,846 master cases of cigarettes with an estimated value of Php 28.6 M pesos along the seawaters of Balut Island, Davao Occidental.
Under the operational supervision of Naval Task Force 71, NFEM, the Philippine Navy’s floating asset, the BRP Artemio Ricarte (PS37), carried out territorial defense operations near the seas surrounding Balut Island, where MB MHUFAR-3 was captured with it’s 25 crew.
Upon inspection, the PS37 boarding team discovered that the motorized watercraft originated from Tawi-Tawi and was carrying a large quantity of illegal and undocumented cigarettes bound for Malita, Davao Occidental.
