Government agents raided a storage facility in Las Piñas City and seized counterfeit products and other smuggled items worth P45 million.
Armed with a letter of authority from Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero, operatives of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service swooped down on the establishment in Barangay Almanza and discovered various counterfeit and smuggled items.
The CIIS men assigned at the Manila North Harbor conducted the operation late last month with the help of the Philippine Coast Guard and the National Bureau of Investigation.
During the operation, the authorities also found a clinic storing various Chinese medicines, smuggled cigarettes and counterfeit items such as bags and food items.
“Further inventory of the goods is underway for the possible filing of charges for violation of Section 1400 of RA 10863 otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act,” said Commissioner Guerrero.
The latest apprehension was the third conducted by the CIIS in three weeks in southern Metro Manila.
The team recently raided two establishments in cities of Pasay and Parañaque where it found smuggled Chinese products and health items believed to be used to treat patients infected with the coronavirus disease.
The Bureau reiterated its reminders to the public against the use of medicines without the proper Department of Health and Food and Drug Administration clearances.
It also appealed to the public to avoid seeking treatment from fly-by-night clinics that may cause further health risks.