Intelligence agents of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) have raided a popular car dealership in Pasig City for allegedly selling exotic and hyper vehicles without proper documentation.
BOC Commissioner Bien Rubio said his men implemented a Letter of Authority (LOA) he signed on RDY Premium Cars showroom in Barangay Ugong in Pasig City on July 4 after intelligence reports indicated documentary issues on the mix of luxury imported and locally sourced vehicles that it sells.
The composite team from the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) implement a Letter of Authority (LOA) signed by Commissioner Bien Rubio during the raid at the RDY Premium Cars in AutoCamp, Pasig City on July 4, 2023. (Photo: BOC)
The operation was conceptualized and carried out by agents from the BOC’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Intelligence Group (CIIS-IG).
Rubio said that the BOC team found some 197 imported and locally sourced vehicles and during the inventory of all vehicles from July 5 to 6, a total of 87 of the units were subjected to investigation due to questionable documents.
Included in the 87 vehicles currently being investigated because of questionable documents are several units of Lexus, Mercedes Benz, Porsche Macan, Jaguar, GMC Savana, McLaren, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Audi, and Land Rover.
photos: BOC
Rubio issued the statement on the operation over various reports and speculations in the past days in connection with the Pasig operation.
“There needs to be a clarification of what transpired during the raid because there are varying, and even false, accounts about what happened,”said Rubio.
“There was reportedly no tight lockdown in the showroom. This was because of the unusual location of the car hub wherein the compound is being shared by several other business establishments. If a tight lockdown was put in place, our team would have also compromised the operations of the other businesses there,” he added.
For his part, CIIS director Verne Enciso belied reports that the “special operation” was led by a Deputy Commissioner and a lawyer of a different group.
Instead, he said it was a result of an intelligence operation conceptualized and implemented by the BOC’s CIIS-IG division led by Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Juvymax Uy.
“Every operation we conduct is a product of intense brainstorming and weeks of monitoring, analyzing, and investigation. We don’t go out there on a whim. Our team has been working day and night to confirm each information we get from our sources,” Enciso said.
Uy, on the other hand, assured that the proper procedure was followed during the implementation of the LOA and pending the result of the investigation into the cars’ documents.
“In fact, the BOC has posted agents and officers 24/7 in the establishment to secure the vehicles found there,” said Uy.