THE first week of the month of May proved very busy—and productive—for the Bureau of Customs as it launched a two-day anti-smuggling campaign in Metro Manila that yielded an assortment of smuggled goods with a combined total reaching more than P486 million.
Armed with a ‘Letter of Authority’ (LOA) signed by Comm. Rey Leonardo Guerrero, combined elements from the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) and the Customs Police (Enforcement and Security Service, ESS) and coming from the Manila International Container Port (MICP) and the Port of Manila (POM), the group split into two and took off last May 7, 2021 to separate destinations in Navotas City and Pasay City, where they confiscated suspected smuggled goods with a combined value of P316 million.
A statement from the BOC said that in Navotas, the customs team proceeded to a storage facility and discovered the presence of smuggled frozen meat, Peking duck, and black duck. The items were estimated to have a value of Php 16 Million.
The second team, for its part, inspected storage facilities in Pasay City and discovered the presence of fake signature clothes with brands like Nike, Lacoste, Jag, Louis Vitton, Jordan, Crocs, Adidas, Havianas, Disney, Frozen, Hello Kitty, Tribal, Dickies, Mossimo, Levi’s, Petrol, Gap, Fila, Uniqlo, Lee, Puma, DC, and Marvel.
The items were estimated to have a value of Php 300 million and further inventory are ongoing, the BOC statement added.
The result of the operation also dwarfed by several hundred million the P100 million worth of fake imported brands the CIIS team at the MICP seized at a warehouse in Tondo, Manila, last January 25, 2021.
On the same day, at the POM, district collector Michael Angelo Vargas, announced the confiscation of a 1X40-footer van declared as “paper products” but found to actually contain imported ‘Fortune’ cigarettes worth some P20.37 million from China.
Acting on information, Vargas said he placed the shipment, which arrived last May 2, 2021, on hold for 100 percent physical inspection that resulted to the discovery of the misdeclaration by the consignee that he also identified as ‘Micastar Consumer Goods Trading.’
In a brief statement, Vargas also credited the “efficient coordination” between the various port units and offices that led to the discovery and confiscation of the shipment.
Much earlier, on May 5, 2021, MICP CIIS chief, Alvin Enciso, announced the successful result of their operation at another storage facility in Tondo, Manila, based on another LOA issued by Guerrero.
Enciso said that aside from the CIIS, participating units also involved the ESS and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
The inspection revealed the presence of various items such as cosmetic/beauty products, unregistered aidelai facemasks, heng de face shields, IPR infringing clothing, toys, and cellphone cases, among others.
The apprehended items were estimated to have a value amounting to P150 million, Enciso said in his report to Guerrero and deputy commissioner for intelligence (DCI) Raniel Ramiro.
“Further inventory and investigation are underway to ascertain the (actual) value and for the possible filing of charges (against those involved) for violation of Section 1400 of RA 10863,” the official added.