Four luxury vehicles -- a Porsche, Bentley, Mercedes Benz, and half-cut Volkswagen -- were uncovered in a shipment declared as furniture at the Manila International Container Port.
The luxury vehicles, which have an estimated value of P20 million, were discovered by the Bureau of Customs last Oct. 20 through profiling conducted by the MICP Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS).
It was disclosed that the shipment arrived in the country on October 16, 2020 from Kobe, Japan.
According to the Customs bureau, it was imported by Blue Core Enterprises and was only declared to contain furniture.
“It was, however, verified through profiling and examination, that subject container contained smuggled vehicles, which were identified as Porsche Sportscar, Bentley Luxury Car, Mercedes Benz Sportscar, and half-cut Volkswagen, with an estimated value amounting to P20 million,” District Collector Romeo Allan Rosales said.
A warrant of seizure and detention has been issued against the shipment.
“The importer is now under investigation and may face charges for violation of Section 1400 in relation to Section 1113 of Republic Act (RA) 10863, commonly known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA). Specifically, importation of second hand vehicles is strictly prohibited in the Philippines,” the district collector said.
The bureau started destroying smuggled luxury cars in 2018 instead of auctioning them off to cut the pattern of smugglers who try to reclaim their shipments through bidding.