P400M worth of counterfeit items seized in Manila port

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) seized P400-million worth of counterfeit items smuggled through the port of Manila from China, Customs Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Danilo Lim said Sunday.   Lim said the two 44-foot container vans consigned to Imax Harbor International Trading Corp. were confiscated at the port after the bureau’s Intellectual Property Rights Division noticed “marked discrepancies” in the origin and the specification of the shipment.   He added that the seized containers contained more than 12,000 pieces of counterfeit bags, as well as fake cellular phone accessories and medicines. The container vans’ documents, however, said they contained plastic wares.   The Customs official said that the confiscation of these items—the second biggest catch by the bureau’s intelligence division since he assumed his post last September—should serve as warning for smugglers.   “We will do everything in our power to prevent smuggled products especially those that pose a serious threat to the health of our people from entering our market,” he said in a statement.   Customs chief Rufino Biazon, for his part, has already ordered the strengthening of the country’s border patrol following the confiscation of these counterfeit products.   “I have assigned my best intelligence agents to help strengthen our common initiative on border patrol enforcement. Pagsusumikapan natin na panatilihing matatag ang mga bakod ng tuwid na daan laban sa mga smuggler at corrupt,” he said. — Andreo C. Calonzo/KBK, GMA News