Counterfeit products worth around P775 million were confiscated by the Bureau of Customs (BoC) in raids in Pasay City, Bulacan, and Pangasinan this month.
According to BoC, P100 million worth of fake high-end shoes and clothing items were confiscated from nine warehouses in Pasay City on November 8.
The raid was conducted by officials and personnel of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), BoC Special Studies and Project Development Committee (SSPDC), and Intellectual Property Rights Division (IPRD).
The teams found huge stash of counterfeit items of brands such as Nike, Adidas, Lacoste, Abercombie & Fitch, Tribal, Havaianas, Crocs, Winnie-the-Pooh, Hermes, Jag, Levi’s, Lakers, Dickies, Gap, and Giordano among others.
BoC said no one was arrested since the warehouse owners were not in the premises when the raids were conducted.
Meanwhile, hundreds of boxes of counterfeit cigarettes worth P500 million including fake Bureau of Internal revenue (BIR) tax stamps worth P175 million, were confiscated in separate raids in warehouses in Bulacan and Pangasinan on November 18.
BoC authorities and provincial officials arrested seven occupants in the warehouse in Marilao, Bulacan and 24 Chinese workers in Villasis, Pangasinan.
Found and confiscated inside the Bulacan warehouse were packages of assorted cigarette materials and finished imitation cigarette brands such as Marlboro, Fortune, Jackpot, Skag and Farstar.
Also found in the Pangasinan warehouse were items used to manufacturing cigarettes including 11 units of cigarette making/packaging machines, 1,149 mastercases of assorted brands cigarettes, 1,251 packs cigarette brand soft labels, and 2,173 reams of counterfeit BIR tax stamps among others. (Argyll Cyrus B. Geducos)
