Government agents have seized P1.5-billion worth of smuggled counterfeit signature products and raw materials used in manufacturing cigarettes during a raid at a storage facility in Valenzuela City.
Customs Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Group Raniel Ramiro said the raid was staged on the warehouse of C Teknik Development Corp. located at 143 C.P. Gregorio Street in Barangay Lingunan.
Ramiro said a composite team from the Manila International Container Port – Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (MICP-CIIS) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines found counterfeit products of Christian Dior, Gucci, Michael Kors, Coach, Guess, Nike, Adidas, Hello Kitty, and Jordan at the warehouse.
He said the operation was made based on the Letter of Authority (LOA) and Mission Order (MO) issued by Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero on July 13.
Also discovered inside the establishment were imported construction materials, housewares, kitchenware, household appliances, consumer electronics lighting products, and beauty and personal hygiene products.
The raiding team also found a hidden storage of raw materials for cigarettes, such as tobacco filler and filter rod.
“We almost missed that (storage facility) because it was hidden behind layers of bubble wrap and boxes. We needed to remove those first during the inspection to see the storage area,” said MICP-CIIS chief intelligence officer Alvin Enciso.
According to Enciso, his team temporarily placed padlocks and seals on the entrance and exit gates of the warehouse.
Inventory was completed on Thursday by the assigned Customs examiners, while CIIS and representatives of the warehouse stood as witnesses.
“These operations are not done without basis. We’ve always been careful in collecting the proper information before submitting the necessary documents to the commissioner. When we prepare for an operation like this, we are 100 percent sure that our information will hold,” CIIS director Jeoffrey Tacio said.
For his part, Commissioner Guerrero said the latest operation, one of the biggest against smuggled goods and cigarette-making facilities, was hard proof of the work done by the bureau under his watch.
“The agency has come under fire not only in recent weeks, but in years before I took over. It is high time to show what the Customs stands for when we get the job done,” he said.
Guerrero commended the CIIS team and the Armed Forces men for bringing to justice the operators of illegal businesses, “highlighting the need now more than ever to protect the market and prove to the world that the Philippines will not be a haven for smugglers.”
The Department of Trade and Industry – Bureau of Product Standard (DTI-BPS) has already sent inspectors in close coordination with the BOC. The subject goods are regulated by the agency.
Ramiro said a Warrant of Seizure and Detention will be issued against the subject goods for violation of Republic Act 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, in relation to Section 117 (Regulated Goods), Section 118 (Prohibited Goods), and Section 1113 (Property Subject to Seizure and Forfeiture) of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
Those responsible for smuggling the items found in the warehouse will likewise face appropriate legal charges, according to Ramiro.