Customs seizes 3 vans of fake branded shoes

MANILA, Philippines -  The Bureau of Customs, seized three forty-foot container vans believed to be loaded with counterfeit or imitation versions of known footwear brands, the agency said yesterday.

Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez said two of the containers were consigned to Orient Seas Trading while the other one belonged to Anchorage Indenture Import Export.

Both shipments, added Alvarez, were found to contain counterfeit Havainas, Nike, Lacoste, Crocs and other leading footwear brands.

In a report to Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service Director Filomeno Vicenci Jr., lawyer Zsae Carrie de Guzman, Intellectual Property Rights Division (IPRD) chief, placed the estimated value of the fake branded shoes consigned to Anchorage Indenture at P60 million while that of Orient Seas Trading was believed to be worth at least P80 million.

De Guzman revealed that the two consignees misdeclared their importations as ordinary footwear.

The shipments which arrived middle of January were subjected to an alert order after the consignees had filed their import entry and internal revenue declarations. As suspected, the containers were found to actually contain imitations of well-known brands.

 The IPRD was created in 2008 under Customs Administrative Order 9-2008 as mandated by Executive Order 736 issued by then President Arroyo. From a mere ad-hoc unit, it was converted last September into a division by Commissioner Alvarez thru a Customs Memorandum Order that effectively spinned off the IPRD from the Internal Inquiry and Prosecution Division of the CIIS.

Last year, the IPRD was credited for apprehending more than P1 billion worth of fake and counterfeit goods, mostly bags, shoes, cosmetics, accessories and men’s and women’s apparel.

Alvarez said the Aquino administration is committed to making smuggling expensive to unscrupulous businessmen.

The agency is tasked to collect P320 billion this year which Alvarez said would be difficult to attain.    – With Evelyn Macairan