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The Bureau of Customs on Oct 22 seized P60 million worth of allegedly smuggled luxury cars and other motor vehicles in a follow-up operation in Quezon City
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An intelligence report noted the showroom of car dealer R33 Cars has a garage where suspected smuggled luxury cars were also stored
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Authorities had inspected the R33 Cars showroom on Oct 21
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The owner of the vehicles has 15 days to present proper import documents or the vehicles will be seized
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) seized an estimated P60 million worth of allegedly smuggled luxury cars and other motor vehicles during a follow-up operation in a showroom in Xavierville, Loyola Heights, Quezon City.
A composite team of BOC-Manila International Container Port, National Bureau of Investigation, and Philippine Coast Guard on October 22 conducted the follow-up operation after receiving an intelligence report that the showroom of car dealer R33 Cars, which authorities had inspected on October 21, has a garage where suspected smuggled luxury cars were also stored.
Upon inspection, operatives discovered another batch of luxury cars such as a Porsche turbo, Mini Cooper, Mercedes Benz Kompressor, Toyota Sprinter, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Honda Civic, and an SUV Lexus Lx570, among others. Also stored were several motorcycles and big bikes such as BMW, Vespa, and Ducati.
On October 21, BOC and other government agencies conducted inspections of showrooms in Xavierville and San Simon, Pampanga where they found luxury cars and other vehicles without appropriate importation documents and with an estimated value of P500 million.
READ: Showrooms yield smuggled luxury vehicles worth P500M
The owner of the vehicles was given 15 days to present the proper importation documents, without which the vehicles would be subjected to seizure and forfeiture proceedings under the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
According to BOC’s third quarter 2021 accomplishment report, the agency seized smuggled vehicles and accessories worth P83.038 million in the first nine months of the year.
