P4M ‘fake’ cigarettes seized in Bacolod

BACOLOD CITY-Police and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) officials seized about P4 million worth of alleged fake cigarettes in a series of raids in Barangays 35 and Singcang-Airport in Bacolod City on Thursday.

Adam Mangoda, 44, was charged with unlawful possession of excisable product and unlawful pursuit of business on Thursday, said Eduardo Pagulayan Jr., BIR-Western Visayas.

Six boxes of various kinds of cigarettes were recovered from Mangoda’s house in Purok Mapinalanggaon, Barangay 35, during a raid conducted by members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Bacolod, the BIR- Western Visayas and the Special Weapons and Tactic, along with Philip Morris representatives.

The arrest of Mangoda led authorities to another raid, this time on a warehouse in Barangay Singcang-Airport, where about 32 boxes of fake cigarettes were confiscated, said Senior Insp. Kim Dominic Gamboa, Bacolod CIDG head.

Gamboa said no one was in the warehouse during the operation.
When examined, Gamboa said the cigarettes were counterfeit.

Mangoda, a native of Marawi City, asked the BIR and the police not to file charges against him since he was only selling the cigarettes to earn a living.

He said he bought these cigarettes from a source based in Manila and sold these at P250 per ream, a lot cheaper compared to the prevailing prices of cigarettes at P800 per ream.

His arrest, Mangoda said, was enough warning not to do it again and to find another business.