CIDG seizes P6.5M fake cigarettes in Bulacan
AN estimated P6.5 million worth of smuggled fake cigarettes were seized by agents of the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Bulacan the other day, PNP-CIDG Director Brigadier General Ronald O. Lee said on Friday.
The fake cigar products were confiscated following an entrapment operation triggered by a complaint from a local tobacco company regarding the presence of some persons involved in the illegal sale and distribution of smuggled counterfeit cigarettes in Bulacan and other parts of Central Luzon.
Lee said that the sting led to the arrest of two suspects who are now facing charges of violating the Consumer Act of the Philippines, the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, and the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines before a Bulacan prosecutor’s office.
The PNP-CIDG director said that members of the Bulacan CIDG Provincial Field Unit (PFU) recovered the P100,000 worth of boodle money, topped by a marked P50 bill from the suspects and 94 master cases of the suspected fake cigar products worth at least P6.580 million.
A white L-300 van and a white Toyota Hi-Ace used by the duo to transport the contraband were also impounded by the CIDG Bulacan PFU, said Lee.
