BOC records another multi-billion seizure

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) under Comm. Rey Leonardo Guerrero again registered another multi-billion pesos seizure of suspected smuggled goods after raiding a warehouse in Maysan, Valenzuela City, where over P2.3 billion worth of counterfeit goods and used clothing were found.

Armed with a ‘LOA’ (letter of authority) signed by Guerrero, a composite team from the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service – Manila International Container Port (CIIS-MICP), Customs Police (ESS), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission (PACC), the on-site inspection revealed the presence of counterfeit items with brands such as Nike, Louis Vuitton and Dior.

Also found were various bales of used clothing, face masks and other imported items with an estimated market value of Php 2.3 billion, according to MICP district collector Romeo Allan Rosales, in an after-operations report to Guerrero.

Rosales added that he has already issued an ‘WSD’ (warrant of seizure and detention) against the confiscated items.

The BOC statement, however, failed to disclose the identities of the warehouse owner and the owners of the smuggled items seized. The BOC also failed to indicate when the operation took place.

In a talk with Pinoy Exposé, PACC chair, Greco Belgica, for his part, confirmed the operation took place “sometime last week” and said it was his office that provided the initial intelligence report about the warehouse.

The value of the confiscated goods topped the P2 billion worth of fake merchandise and other assorted items confiscated by the BOC and spearheaded by the Intelligence Group (IG) during a raid in another establishment in Baclaran, Parañaque City, last June 3, 2021.

Retired Army general Raniel Ramiro, deputy commissioner for intelligence (DCI), had earlier expressed his optimism to Guerrero that the BOC has good basis to expect it can even double the value of smuggled goods compared to those confiscated last year, which stood at P10.6 billion.

From January to June this year, Ramiro said the BOC had already chalked up P10.195 billion worth of confiscated goods in a series of anti-smuggling operations and site-visitations of warehouses and facilities suspected of storing smuggled and counterfeit goods (see also Pinoy Exposé Issue No. 27).

P4.5 million “ukay-ukay” seized in Cebu

At the Port of Cebu, Acting District Collector Charlito Martin R. Mendoza reported to Guerrero the confiscation of a shipment of used clothing (“ukay-ukay”) from Thailand last July 15, 2021.

Mendoza said the local CIIS office earlier received information from the Thai Customs Department about the shipment’s impending arrival thru the Port of Cebu.

The shipment was examined by Customs Examiner Ricardo Jose V. Collantes, together with the representatives from the CIIS, Enforcement and Security Service, X-Ray Inspection Project Team, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, and Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc. –Cebu Chapter.

The shipment yielded 588 bales and 16 sacks of used clothing contrary to the electronic manifest declaration indicating it contained “household items.”

“We thank our Thai Customs counterpart for sharing with us their intelligence report on the shipment,” Mendoza said in a brief statement that failed to identify the consignee of the shipment.

He also lauded the CIIS for its immediate action in responding to the information provided by their Thai counterpart.

Mendoza also stressed the importance of international cooperation among customs agencies in the fight against smuggling.

The seized articles, after finality of the forfeiture proceedings, will be disposed of in accordance with existing customs rules and regulations, Mendoza added.