Smuggled Chinese cigarettes and unlicensed firearms worth P10 million were recently uncovered in an establishment in Makati City, the Bureau of Customs said.
The contrabands were seized during a raid on August 25 following surveillance.
Aside from the firearms and cigarettes, test kits for coronavirus disease and the Chinese medicine Linhua Qingwen Jiaonang were found in the establishment along with face masks and liquor.
Intelligence Group Deputy Commissioner Raniel Ramiro said that agents from Customs, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) raided the establishment armed with a letter of authority signed by Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero.
He added that the bureau “would coordinate with the Food and Drugs Administration to determine if the medicines had their approval and also with the Philippine National Police for details of the seized firearms.”
The items and the establishment premises shall be sealed and kept under guard while an inventory is ongoing to verify pertinent import permits and documents.