Almost P4 million worth of alleged counterfeit products were seized by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) during operations conducted in Metro Manila and Nueva Ecija.
In a statement, the NBI said the seizure was carried out last Oct. 22 and Oct. 23 by virtue of search warrants issued by the courts.
It said that agents of its Intellectual Property Rights Division (NBI-IPRD) seized 4,485 pieces of assorted counterfeit “Nivea” products with a total estimated market value of about P1,345,000.
It also said the “counterfeit” products were seized from the Addysone Online Store in Malabon City, and Lyvem Chin Consumer Good Trading and Lynsay Pot’s Consumer Good Trading in Nueva Ecija.
The NBI said it acted on the complaint of IP Manila Associates on behalf of their client, Beiersdorf AG, the registered owner of the “Nivea” trademark.
Last Oct. 23, the NBI said that search warrants were implemented in Parañaque City and resulted in the seizure of 1,094 pieces of “counterfeit” SanDisk Memory Cards, Flash Drives, and HD Cards with an estimated value of P2,650,000.
It warned the public against “using counterfeit cosmetics that can cause adverse reactions, as they contain chemicals and carcinogens that have been known to cause serious long-term health issues.”
Also, it said “using fake computer products can cause device malfunction and permanent loss of important data.”
Charges will be filed against the owners of the establishments raided for Violations of Section 155 in relation to Section 170 of Republic Act No. 8293, the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.