Police arrested a woman for allegedly selling fake cigarettes in Navotas City on Monday, April 4.
Lt. Col. Jay Dimaandal, Nothern Police District (NPD) Special Operations Unit (DSOU) chief, identified the suspect as Olivia Olarte, 44, an online seller and a resident of Brgy. Daanghari, Navotas City.
According to the police report, personnel of the DSOU, along with Phillip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corporation (PMFTC) Illicit Trade Prevention Executive Mr. Solomon P. Dador Jr., conducted an entrapment operation against the suspect at the corner of M. Naval and Daanghari Streets, Brgy. Daanghari at around 9:30 p.m. on Monday.
Operatives arrested Olarte after a police poseur-buyer successfully purchased alleged counterfeit cigarette products worth P46,800 from her.
Seized from the suspect were 60 reams of fake cigarette brands with an estimated value of P86,000.
Dimaandal said that the suspect has an unidentified supplier from Tondo, Manila.
Olarte was brought to the Navotas Hospital for physical examination after her arrest, was turned over to the DSOU office, and detained at the Directorate of Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) Custodial Facility.
The suspect will be charged for violation of Republic Act (RA) 8293 or the “Intellectual Property Rights of the Philippines” as amended by RA 10372.