P1.5 billions ‘hot’ goods seized in Valenzuela warehouse
MANILA, Philippines — Customs operatives and soldiers confiscated P1.5 billion worth of smuggled goods at a warehouse in Valenzuela City on Wednesday.
Counterfeit products of high-end brands, construction materials, houseware, kitchenware, appliances, consumer electronics and lighting products were found in the warehouse of C. Teknik Development Cooperation along C.P. Gregorio street, according to Alvin Enciso, who heads the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Manila International Container Port.
The operatives also found a hidden storage facility of raw materials for cigarettes such as tobacco filler and filter rods.
“We almost missed that (storage facility) because it was hidden behind layers of bubble wrap and boxes. We needed to remove those first during the inspection to see the storage area,” Enciso said in a statement to reporters yesterday afternoon.
Bureau of Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero said the Valenzuela operation is one of the largest the BOC has conducted against smuggled goods and clandestine cigarette-making facilities.
BOC operatives padlocked the warehouse shortly after the operation and conducted a full inventory of the building’s contents.
The BOC said it will file charges of violating intellectual property and customs laws against those responsible for the smuggled goods. — Louise Maureen Simeon
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