The Bureau of Customs seized some P70 million worth of fake goods intended for the holiday season sale in a shopping mall in Binondo, Manila.
Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero said operatives of the BOC and the Armed Forces of the Philippines Joint Task Force NCR raided several storage units of a shopping mall in Binondo district and found smuggled fake products, from beauty soap, apparels to fake medicines.
Guerrero said the operation stemmed from the information and complaint from Baranda & Associates that various smuggled goods, all fake products, were kept inside 70 storage units.
“Found inside the area were smuggled and likely a number of replica items bearing the brands Silka, Likas Papaya, Spiderman, Hello Kitty, Coach, Long Champ, Cath Kidston, Anelo, Louis Vuitton, Lacoste, Red Bull, Dove, Lux, Prada, Gucci, Chanel, Cetaphil, Balenciaga, Kate Spade, Fred Perry, Head & Shoulder, Pantene, Rejoice, Sony, Awei, Cars, Mickey Mouse, Frozen, Champion, DKNY, Marc Jacobs, Bench, Starbucks, Yves Saint Laurent, Max Man, Viagra, Cialis, Tory Burch, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, Hollister, among other,” Guerrero said.
Representatives from respective brand owners took samples of the items and declared the items to be fake.
Guerrero said the owners of the storage units would face smuggling and copyright charges for violating sec. 118 of the Republic Act No. 10863, that prohibits the importation of infringing goods.
“On October 18, the BOC turned over P58 million worth of smuggled and fake goods to the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines for condemnation. These smuggled goods were seized from the various anti-smuggling operations of the BOC-Intelligence Group composed of IPRD and CIIS,” Guerrero added.
Meanwhile, a Bureau of Customs employee is now facing criminal charges after he allegedly attempted to bribe a Philippine Coast Guard personnel assigned at the Manila International Container Port last Tuesday.
In a statement on Wednesday, the PCG said Cesar Nierva, BOC employee assigned at entry processing unit, was brought to the Manila Regional Trial Court for inquest proceedings.
Nierva will also be facing administrative charges in connection with the case filed against him, the PCG said in a statement.
The PCG said one of its personnel arrested Nierva after the former reportedly received from the suspect under-the-table cash amounting to P7,760 inserted between documents filed at the Entry Processing Unit Import Office-BOC Tuesday afternoon.
Capt. Allen Dalangin, PCG commander of Special Deployment Force at the BOC, said the suspect was brought to the Enforcement and Security Service ESS–MICP for investigation.