The Bureau of Customs (BOC) on July 23 destroyed seized items including a Ferrari, 12 units of cigarette-making machines, and more than 1,000 master cases of various brands of counterfeit cigarettes.
The Ferrari, initially declared as used auto spare parts, arrived at the Port of Manila (POM) on May 13, 2019 and was declared abandoned and forfeited pursuant to Section 1129 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA). Upon physical examination, the customs examiner found the shipment actually contained a Ferrari with both doors and the hub dismantled from the main body.
The fake cigarettes and imported cigarette-making machines, meanwhile, were seized last February by elements of BOC-Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) from a warehouse located in Barangay Bagacay, Tacloban City, after owners failed to present proof of payment of duties and taxes.
Warrants of Seizure and Detention were issued against the machines, which were eventually forfeited under Sections 1401 and 1113 of the CMTA.
The master cases of counterfeit cigarettes, on the other hand, were seized pursuant also to Sections 1401 and 1113 of the CMTA and Republic Act 8293, otherwise known as the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.
BOC in a statement said the seizure and destruction of the said goods serve as a warning to smugglers and manufacturers of fake cigarettes, and is in line with the directive of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III for the customs bureau to closely monitor the importation and manufacture of illegal cigarettes.
