Owner of smuggled luxury car surrenders vehicle to BOC

The Bureau of Customs says that the owner of the red Bugatti Chiron sports car worth P165 million surrendered the luxury vehicle on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024. It was in Ayala Alabang Village in Muntinlupa City. (Photo courtesy of the BOC)

MANILA, Philippines — The owner of one of the two allegedly smuggled luxury cars that the government has been searching for surrendered the vehicle to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Friday.

According to the BOC, one of the two Bugatti Chiron sports cars was surrendered by its owner to its Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Manila International Container Port.

READ: BOC hunts 2 alleged smuggled Bugatti cars in Metro Manila, Cavite

“This shows what we can achieve by working together. This is a big win for the Bureau as we are working toward curbing smuggling of all kinds and making sure our borders are secured from these activities,” Customs Commissioner Bien Rubio said in a statement.

According to Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Group Juvymax Uy, the red Bugatti was turned over to the BOC team at a residence in Ayala Alabang Village in Muntinlupa City.

This is also where the sports car was hidden, he added.

“Our intelligence is that the red Bugatti had been stored in a house in Alabang. Since we shared the information about the two cars publicly, it got harder for the owners to drive these anywhere,” Uy said.

The car owner will face charges for violating Section 1400 in relation to Section 1113 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, the bureau said.

The BOC said on Monday that they were tracking down the location of the two luxury cars, which amount to P165 million each.

The two units of the 2023 model sports car — one colored blue (with plate number NIM 5448) and one red (with plate number NIM 5450) — are registered under Menguin Zhu and Thu Thrang Nguyen, the bureau said.

BOC-CIIS Director Verne Enciso said that they had already asked the Land Transportation Office to investigate how the cars were issued registration papers despite not having the proper importation documents.

“Our job is not yet done. The blue Bugatti is still out there. We will find it in due time,” Enciso added.