CITY OF SAN FERNANDO --- The Bureau of Customs (BOC) confiscated suspected counterfeit items and smuggled cigarettes worth P5.5 billion during a raid at 19 warehouses in Bulacan province on August 22, 2024.
Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Manila International Container Port (CIIS-MICP) discovered the items during an inspection at the warehouses inside the Green Miles Compound, Sitio Cabatuhan, Camalig in Meycauayan City on Thursday.
The CIIS-MICP said it found P5 billion worth of suspected counterfeit goods such as gadgets and garments and P500 million worth of alleged smuggled cigarettes.
The BOC said the warehouses were padlocked to protect the seized items.
The shipment's consignors and consignees face charges for violating Section 117 (regulated importation and exportation) and Section 1400 (misdeclaration in goods declaration) in relation to Section 1113 (property subject to seizure and forfeiture) of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).
They will also face charges for violation of Republic Act (RA) 8293 (Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines), RA 10963, the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN Law), and the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) Board Resolution No. 079-2005 (amended rules and regulations governing the exportation and importation of leaf tobacco and tobacco products).
The operation was conducted in coordination with the Enforcement and Security Service-MICP, Prosecution and Litigation Division-Bureau Action Team Against Smuggling, Philippine Coast Guard, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.