CUSTOMS agents have confiscated smuggled counterfeit goods such as vapes, branded items, cosmetics, and general merchandise valued at P4.8 billion.
The agents swooped down Friday on a warehouse in Binondo, Manila on orders of Customs Commissioner Bienvenidor Rubio.
Rubio lauded the team for thwarting the alleged attempt to smuggle a large quantity of counterfeit items and other merchandise, mostly from China.
“I am sure that this will be one of the biggest operations by the BOC (Bureau of Customs) this year in terms of the value of the goods found. In recent months, we’ve been monitoring several warehouses for violation of intellectual property rights. As these groups and individuals become more brazen in their attempts to circumvent our laws, the more that our BOC personnel—from top to bottom—will find and prosecute them,” he said.
The team reportedly found boxes of copyright-infringing goods from luxury brands like Dior to popular characters for kids such as Hello Kitty and Spiderman. Based on initial inventory of these counterfeit items, we peg the market value to be around P4.8 billion. I’ve seen my fair share of big-time operations, but amounts like this still astound me to this day.
The seized goods also included disposable vapes, vape accessories, and branded garments and bags from various well-known brands, along with school supplies, cosmetics, tools, and other general merchandise.
