Fake branded cigarettes, food items from China seized

Bureau of Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon (left), BOC Intelligence Group chief Danny Lim and intellectual property rights lawyer Zsae de Guzman on Tuesday show samples of fake branded cigarettes seized at a Manila warehouse. NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has seized fresh shipments of counterfeit cigarettes and assorted food items from China, bringing to over P92 million the value of similar items confiscated over the past two weeks.

The contraband, which was discovered in a recent raid on a warehouse on Aguilar Street in Manila’s Tondo district, included boxes of fake Marlboro, Winston and Fortune cigarettes, Knorr and Maggi food seasoning, and Nescafe coffee, the BOC announced on Tuesday.

The goods could fetch around P30 million if sold to unsuspecting customers, the bureau said.

However, no arrests were made in connection with the seizure.

Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon said tips from “assets in the private sector” led to the seizure, which he said was “a big boost to the local industry.”

“Otherwise, had these illegally imported goods been able to get to the local market, they could have affected the local tobacco industry,” Biazon said in a statement.

The BOC chief particularly lauded the bureau’s Intelligence Group (IG) headed by Deputy Commissioner Danilo Lim, a former military rebel. “The stronger operational ties between IG operatives and their assets will certainly result in more seizures for the BOC in the days to come.”

Lim said the seizure of the smuggled goods “will not only have an impact on the local tobacco industry but, more importantly, it will also be a big help to the government’s healthy lifestyle campaign through cigarette-free living.”

The former Army general also observed that “smuggling attempts for cigarette products have noticeably increased after the government imposed (higher) sin taxes (starting in January), resulting in higher prices of tobacco products in the local market.”

“We are aware of this development and this is the reason why the BOC is closely monitoring all ports for attempts to smuggle foreign-made cigarettes into the country,” Lim added.

On May 23, the bureau also intercepted shipments of cars and Vietnam rice, all amounting to P12 million, at the Davao port.

In separate raids in Manila on May 24, the BOC confiscated another cargo of fake cigarettes and condiments worth P25 million and fake medicines worth P25 million.

“Allowing these illegally imported goods to reach the local market without being certified as safe by concerned government agencies like the Food and Drugs Administration could pose health risks to the public,” Biazon said.

“We shall investigate the people behind this smuggling attempt and file appropriate charges against them in court,” he stressed.—Jerry E. Esplanada