BY BETHEENA UNITE
More than 200 master cases of smuggled fake cigarettes were recently discovered in a warehouse in Bocaue, Bulacan, the Bureau of Customs (BoC) reported Friday.
A total of 246 master cases valued at P15.7 million were seized when the bureau’s enforcement and security service quick reaction team raided the warehouse on August 25.
Cigarettes bearing brands such as Marlboro, Astro, D&B, Two Moon, and Union were found in the warehouse. The BoC said the items are fake and were suspected to be smuggled.
Armed with a letter of authority signed by Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero, customs agents and local police inspected the subject warehouse, whose owner was not identified by the customs bureau.
According to the bureau, no worker or any individual was found in the warehouse during the raid.
The apprehended goods are currently undergoing further investigation and inventory, it added.
“The Bureau remains committed to its mandate to secure the country’s borders as it strengthens efforts to protect the public from fake and smuggled goods,” Guerrero said.
Smuggled Chinese cigarettes and unlicensed firearms worth P10 million were also uncovered in a store and storage establishment in Makati City on the same day, the Customs bureau reported Thursday.
The firearms and cigarettes were seized during a raid on August 25 after a test-buy was conducted following surveillance confirming the existence of the smuggled and unlicensed items.
Aside from the firearms and cigarettes, test kits for coronavirus and Chinese medicine Linhua Qingwen Jiaonang were found in the establishment. (Betheena Unite)
