At least P200 million worth of smuggled luxury vehicles were seized by operatives of the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) from a high-end service shop in Makati City.
San Juan Mayor Jose Victor Ejercito tried to stop the raid and admitted that he owned some of the vehicles, but PASG operatives said he must first produce documents to prove that the cars were legally imported, officials said.
PASG chief Undersecretary Antonio Villar Jr. said that a Warrant of Seizure and Detention (WSD) was served at noon at the Auto Sports 24 Corp. at 2320 Pasong Tamo, Makati City were 84 luxury vehicles were parked.
“Out of the 84 vehicles, 81 were found lacking the necessary documents to prove that they were imported into the country legally. As to why these questionable vehicles managed to enter the country illegally is for some ‘bright boys’ to explain,” Villar said.
Among the luxury vehicles subjected to WSD were one Lamborghini car, 21 BMW cars, 16 Mercedez Benz cars, 11 Porsche sports cars, four Jaguars, three Volvos, Ferraris, Carrera, Boxter, Land Cruisers, Range Rovers, Cherokee and an Austin Mini Cooper.
The shop was represented by a certain Nadji Kasauf, a Lebanese and one of the owners, who are reportedly mostly foreigners, PASG chief for operations and National Bureau of Investigation Deputy Director Edmund Arugay said.
Arugay said the firm specializes in the repair of luxury vehicles.
Villar said the seized Lamborghini alone is considered a hot car and was not covered by a single document.
He said the hot car even has a license plate that was later verified to belong to a cheap Asian utility vehicle registered in Cebu.
Arugay said he will give the owners of the seized vehicles a chance to present pertinent documents related to the vehicles’ importation.
“Otherwise, these vehicles will be forfeited in favor of the government,” Arugay said.
Villar said failure by the owners to present pertinent documents for these vehicles would mean the filing of charges against them for violation of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines for misdeclaration and undervaluation of imported items.
He said aside from misdeclaration, owners of the smuggled vehicles also could be charged with falsification of documents.
Villar said some officials of the Land Transportation Office in Cebu and its main office in Quezon City will be investigated for allowing the registration of smuggled luxury vehicles.
A PASG operative present during the raid said Ejercito arrived at around 1 p.m. and claimed that his vehicles – a Land Rover, a Ferrari and a BMW – were legally imported.
However, the mayor was told that he should produce documents proving legal ownership.
Villar and Arugay said the mayor’s complaint was reported to them but Ejercito did not contact them for help.