P300-M worth of fabrics, fake seasoning seized

THE Bureau of Customs has seized two forty-container vans of signature fabrics and fake seasoning mix worth P316.2 million, officials said Tuesday.

BOC Commissioner Ruffy Biazon said the hot shipments were declared as fabrics, raw materials for shoes and wearing apparel and arrived at the Manila International Container Port on January 11 and 14.

Biazon said the container van from Thailand which had 55 rolls of Luois Vuitton, 156 rolls of Chanel and 475 rolls of Mickey Mouse fabrics was consigned to Trio AV Trading.

While the other container van from China which had 1,120 pieces of fake Ajinomoto seasoning mix was consigned to Skyever Import and Export Trader, Inc., he said.

"The illegal importation of counterfeit goods, whether in finished products form or raw materials, has a tremendous impact on our economy," Biazon said.

"This is the reason why we are closely watching our borders against smugglers, as for every pair of smuggled shoes that gets through the local market, for instance, could mean one unsold locally made shoes. And for every unsold locally made shoes, could also mean a certain number of lost labor man hours," he added.

For his part, Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Group (IG) Danilo Lim said his office will coordinate with the BOC's Run-After-the-Smugglers (Rats) for the subsequent filing of appropriate charges in court against the consignees of the hot fabrics and fake food seasoning mix.

BOC Intellectual Property Rights Division (IPRD) lawyer Zsae Carrie De Guzman said that the signature fabrics could have been intended for use as inside linings of locally manufacture imitation bags. (SDR/Sunnex)