AUTHORITIES believe there are more fake cigarettes kept in warehouses in Davao City after seizing several boxes of the contraband worth P2 million on Wednesday, March 7.

The National Bureau of Investigation in Davao region (NBI 11) is preparing charges against a businessman who was arrested after 38 cartons of fake cigarettes were found in his house in Barangay 23-C in Poblacion District, Davao City.

The businessman, whose name was withheld, will be charged with violating Republic Act No. 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.

The businessman admitted that the cigarettes are fake and that these were shipped to him by a fellow businessman based in Manila.

A source from the Bureau of Customs Port of Davao, who asked not to be identified for lack of authority to speak, said that local smugglers usually send contraband on ships from Manila as these no longer pass through Customs.

Some smugglers also transport these illegal items through vans.