BOC raids car hub with luxury vehicles in Pasig
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) revealed details of the raid involving RDY Premium Cars in AutoCamp, a renowned car dealership of exotic and hyper cars, that allegedly carried a mix of luxury imported and locally sourced vehicles without proper documentation.
This came days after a report of what transpired during the July 4, 2023 raid in the car showroom located in Brgy. Ugong, Pasig City.
The implementing team proceeded to the car hub last July 4, 2023 at about 6 p.m. to implement a Letter of Authority (LOA) signed by Customs Commissioner Bien Rubio through an intelligence operation conceptualized by the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Intelligence Group (CIIS-IG).
Upon arrival at the dealership, the team found some 197 imported and locally sourced vehicles, but 87 of these units are now currently under investigation due to questionable documents.
A 100% inventory of the vehicles were conducted on July 5 and 6, 2023.
“There needs to be a clarification of what transpired during the raid because there are varying, and even false, accounts about what happened,” the commissioner said.
“There was reportedly no tight lockdown in the showroom. This was because of the unusual location of the car hub wherein the compound is being shared by several other business establishments.
If a tight lockdown was put in place, our team would have also compromised the operations of the other businesses there,” he explained.
CIIS Director Verne Enciso, for his part, also belied reports that the “special operation” was led by a Deputy Commissioner and a lawyer, of a different group.
Instead, he said it was a result of an intelligence operation conceptualized and implemented by the BOC’s CIIS-IG division led by Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Juvymax Uy.
“Every operation we conduct is a product of intense brainstorming and weeks of monitoring, analyzing, and investigation. We don’t go out there on a whim. Our team has been working day and night to confirm each information we get from our sources,” Enciso added.
Included in the 87 vehicles currently being investigated because of questionable documents are several units of Lexus, Mercedes Benz, Porsche Macan, Jaguar, GMC Savana, McLaren, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Audi, and Land Rover.
Uy assured that the proper procedure was followed during the implementation of the LOA and pending the result of the investigation into the cars’ documents.
“In fact, the BOC has posted agents and officers 24/7 in the establishment to secure the vehicles found there,” he said.
