500 boxes of fake cigarettes seized in Manila, Malabon

MANILA, Philippines — Over 500 boxes of fake cigarettes with counterfeit tax stamps were confiscated by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in Manila and Malabon this week.

Members of the BIR strike team confiscated boxes of fake cigarettes in Barangay Santolan, Malabon, as well as at a room in Pearl Tower in Tondo during two separate raids on Friday.

At least 141 master cases of cigarettes were confiscated at the Malabon house along Tila street, according to a member of the raiding team who requested anonymity.

Meanwhile, in Tondo, at least 32 master cases of fake cigarettes were confiscated in Pearl Tower along Masangkay street.

On Thursday, two houses in Barangay Potrero in Malabon yielded 170 master cases each of fake cigarettes.

Each master case contains 50 reams of fake cigarette packs. 

The source said the raids are proof the BIR is relentless in its crackdown on fake tax stamps, following the seizure of cigarettes with fake tax stamps from tobacco company Mighty Corp. last year.

Tax evasion charges against the company were dismissed after government accepted the company’s P25-billion tax settlement offer.