Two big Binondo warehouses in Manila were raided by a team from the National Bureau of Investigation before the weekend, yielding 169 master cases or boxes of counterfeit cigarettes smuggled from China.
At least 69 master cases of fake Winston brand and 100 master cases of fake Camel brand were seized during the anti-illicit trade operation. The seizure translates into 85,000 fake and untaxed cigarette packs valued at P2.2 million.
The government lost about P2.5 million in excise taxes from the fake cigarettes. Under the sin tax law, a cigarette packs pay a tax of P29 per pack.
The fake cigarettes were subsequently seized by elements of the Intellectual Property Rights Division of the NBI.
The NBI team, acting on the warrant issued by Branch 48 RTC Manila under Judge Nimfa Vilches, said the Binondo warehouses in Asuncion and San Fernando Streets were allegedly owned or operated by Qingchang Zhou alias Jopay Lim, who eluded arrest.
Representatives from Winston and Camel, who have been coordinating with authorities before the raid, confirmed the seized cigarettes were counterfeit versions of their brands.
Authorities and tobacco representatives said it was highly possible the Binondo warehouses were serving as transshipment points for most counterfeit cigarettes being supplied to some parts of Mindanao and Western Visayas.
Meanwhile, PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Western Visayas recently conducted separate market checks on stores in Bacolod City and Iloilo City, which are purported to be selling fake cigarettes.
In Bacolod, three big wholesalers were given final warning by the PNP-CIDG team to cease from their illegal trade or face criminal prosecution.