PAGADIAN CITY -  Soldiers on Saturday morning seized some 6,000 sacks of smuggled rice from Vietnam unloaded from a commercial vessel in Buug, Zamboanga Sibugay.

But crewmen of MV Caroline managed to sailf off, carrying some 12,000 sacks of smuggled rice before soldiers of the 51st Infantry Battalion arrived at the old logpond in Sitio Margal, Barangay Pamintayan in Buug.

Col. Ignacio Obligacion, chief of the 51st IB, said the vessel arrived Friday afternoon in Sitio Margal escorted by three policemen led by certain Insp. Nasser Halil and PO1s Hayda Bataraza and Luciano Marquez, all assigned with the PNP regional command in Zamboanga City.

Halil reportedly attempted to bribe the raiding soldiers led by Lt. Danilo Ambe with one bundle of P500 bills estimated at P50,000.

Obligacion said his men turned down the offer and were planning to file criminal charges against the three policemen.

Obligacion said the smuggled rice was owned by a certain Hadji Naguib of Jolo.

A team of soldiers is also guarding two bug warehouses, one in Barangay Labrador and another in Poblacion Buug, where about 5,000 sacks of smuggled rice are kept.

Obligacion said they have already applied before a local court in Buug for the issuance of a search-and-seizure order.  "Our soldiers are guarding these two warehouses to prevent those involved from sneaking them out."