MORE than P600,000 worth of fake tire sealant was seized by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)–Cebu City Field Unit during an entrapment operation targeting a Chinese businessman couple.
The operation took place from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, September 17, 2025, in Zone 2, A. Del Rosario, Mantuyong, Mandaue City.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Jerick Filosofo, information officer of CIDG 7, said the complaint was first filed with their office by Koby Tyre Sealant, which reported that someone was selling fake sealant imitating their product in the area.
Koby Tyre management showed the fake sealant and compared it with their genuine product, revealing that there was no difference except that the fake one was sold at a lower price.
After gathering all the information, the entrapment operation was launched under Oplan Mega Shopper, the flagship program of CIDG.
CIDG 7 seized over 300 cartons of Koby Tyre sealant, with a total estimated value of P604,800, while the suspects — identified as aliases Melane and Ming — were taken into custody.
Filosofo said that before conducting the entrapment, they first carried out a test-buy to compare it with the genuine product.
The distributor earlier noticed a decline in sales of their product in Cebu, and later discovered that counterfeits with the same brand name but much lower prices were being sold.
“Kase kung titingnan mo, i-co-compare mo parang parehas na parehas eh, yun nga may ginagawa lang silang test to determine na fake at mas cheaper yung binibenta nilang counterfeit, so malaki yung damage duon sa legit dealer,” said Filosofo.
(If you look at it, if you compare them, they really look the same. That’s why they conducted tests to determine that they were fake and cheaper. So the legitimate dealer suffered huge damage.)
Cases for violations of Sections 155 and 168 of Republic Act 9283, or the Intellectual Property Code, have been filed. (AYB)