Customs nabs 17 Chinese, seizes P200m fake cigarettes

August 20, 2018

Seventeen Chinese caught making fake cigarettes were arrested last August 17 in Gapan, Nueva Ecija, the Bureau of Customs said in a statement on Monday.

The foreigners were rounded up during an inspection by agents of the Enforcement and Security Services (ESS) on ValmonteStreet in Barangay Pambuan, Gapan City. Also intercepted are fake cigarettes of assorted brands, six cigarette-making machines, cigarette raw materials, and fake Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) tax stamps stacked inside three boxes.

“It was subjected to a three-week surveillance by our customs police following a tip from a reliable source that counterfeit cigarettes are manufactured inside the warehouse,” Commissioner Isidro Lapena said.

The suspects consisted of 16 males and 1 female, from Hu Bei, Fu Jian, An Hui, and Xi An, China, are now in the custody of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Gapan for violating Section 155, 155.1 in relation to Section 170 of RA 8293 otherwise known as “An Act Prescribing The Intellectual Property Code And Establishing The Intellectual Property Office, Providing For Its Powers And Functions, And For Other Purposes.”

“We are still conducting follow-up investigation to confirm the identities of the suspects and the origin of the raw materials and cigarette-making machine,” Lapena said.

“Aside from the ESS, the operation was coordinated with the elements of the Gapan PNP, Office of the City Mayor, and a product specialist from Japan Tobacco Industry,” Lapena said.

“The owner still has 15 days from the date of inspection to produce evidence of payment on the imported items, otherwise, a warrant of seizure and detention will be issued by the Bureau,” the Customs chief explained.

After inventory of the customs authorities, the fake cigarettes and fake tax stamps will undergo outright seizure.

According to ESS Director Yogi Ruiz, the estimated market value of the seized fake cigarettes, tax stamps and machines is P200 million. DMS