The Bureau of Customs reported Saturday the seizure of counterfeit items, worth P7 billion, in Manila.
In a statement, the fake items bearing luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Burberry, among others, were discovered after an inspection at the Baclaran Bagong Milenyo Plaza recently.
The team, composed of the Intellectual Property Rights Division–Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service under the Intelligence Group, and the Port of Manila District Office conducted the inspection through a letter of authority and mission order issued by Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero.
Upon inspection of the storage facility, the group discovered other items bearing known registered marks, such as Vans, Fubu, Tribal, Under Armour, Nike, Adidas, Zara, H&M, Calvin Klein, Old Navy, Guess, Lee, Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste, Havaianas, Freego, Wrangler, Jordan, Gap, Bershka, Macbeth, Puma, Hollister, Reebok, Joe Malone, and Bulgari, among others.
The BOC estimated the seized goods to have a value amounting to P7,429,638,000.
The operation was also in coordination with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard.
The imported counterfeit items were seized for violation of Section 108 (f) of Republic Act 10863, or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, and RA 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.*PNA
