OPERATIVES of the Philippine Navy (PN) has foiled another attempt by smugglers to sneak in into the country some P10 million worth of contra-bands off the coast of Sulu province.

The contraband goods, consisting of 12,000 sacks of rice and 1,412 boxes of assorted foodstuff and 400 sacks of wheat flour were loaded on board ML Shayna when intercepted on Monday by combined forces of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao and Navy patrol gunboat BRP Emilio Liwanag.

Col. Omar Tonsay, Navy spokesman, on Tuesday said that the illegal shipment came from Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia and was on its way to Warid Pier in Jolo, Sulu.

Investigation revealed that the shipment has no legal importation documents such as import permit from the National Food Authority as in the case of rice importation.

According to Tonsay, the vessel is owned by a certain Jaiton Jadjap and Darcy Tan, both of Port Area, Jolo, Sulu but the owner of the contraband has yet to be determined.

According to Tonsay, the owners of the vessel and its 12 Filipino crewmembers would be slapped with smuggling charges for violation of Republic Act 1937 or the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines.

Last week, Navy operatives also apprehend P15 million worth of smuggled fuel and cigarettes off the coast of Tulian Island in Sulu province.

The port of origin of the said shipment has not been determined, but authorities believed that it also came from Sabah, Malaysia, which is usually used by smugglers as jumped off point in sneaking smuggled goods into the country.