By BETHEENA UNITE
Some P150-million worth of car parts believed to be smuggled from China and then repacked as Japan-based brands were seized during a raid on a store and five warehouses in Barangay Talipapa, Quezon City, the Bureau of Customs said yesterday.
Armed with a letter of authority and mission order, agents from the BoC, Philippine Coast Guard, and National Bureau of Investigation raided the Maxtro Marketing Corp. and Bestat Auto Parts Corp. on Quirino Highway around 12:30 p.m. last Friday.
“The auto parts store and five warehouses were said to be owned by a certain Filipino-Chinese businessman,” the Customs bureau said.
Found inside the warehouses were several and various spare parts, car accessories, truck parts, auto parts, and other items of known Japanese car manufacturers such as Toyota and Mitsubishi.
Also found in the compound were several packaging materials imprinted with “Made in Japan,” bolstering the BoC’s suspicion that the auto parts are sold as if the items were made by the Japan car manufacturers.
According to the BoC, repackaging inferior and substandard car parts and making them appear as Japanese brands is deceiving the Filipino buyers.
“During this time of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic when finances are tight for many Filipinos, they should still be able to purchase items of equal value with their hard-earned money,” the BoC said.
The Customs Intelligence Group, on the other hand, warned the public to be wary of such modus operandi being run by some businessmen.