Fake branded cigarettes, food items from China seized

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.”

 

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