MANILA: Personnel of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) have arrested a man for selling counterfeit Unilever products worth PHP2.1 million in Malabon City, a top police official said Thursday.
CIDG chief, Brig. Gen. Romeo Caramat Jr., said agents of the CIDG Anti-Fraud and Commercial Crimes Unit (AFCCU) implemented a search warrant in Barangay Potrero, Malabon City on Tuesday, where they seized assorted Unilever products such as Dove, Rexona, and Axe; a half-full plastic of Zeam coat powder, voluminous sticker labels (front and back labels), and a roll of sticker label (expiration date) and arrested the suspect identified as Jake Michael Bautista.
The operation stemmed from a complaint lodged by a lawyer representative of Unilever Philippines that Bautista is engaged in the production and selling of counterfeit Unilever products.
The conducted surveillance and case build-up by the CIDG confirmed the veracity of the complaint that resulted in the filing and implementation of a search warrant and the arrest of Bautista.
Bautista and confiscated pieces of evidence were brought to the AFCCU office for proper documentation and disposition while criminal complaints for violations of Section 11 of Republic Act (RA) 3720 as amended by RA 9711 (Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009) and RA 8293 (Intellectual Property Rights) are now being prepared for filing through Inquest Proceedings at the Malabon City Prosecutor’s Office.
The CIDG chief also warned the public that patronizing and using counterfeit food or cosmetic products might endanger their health.
Meanwhile, Caramat also said CIDG agents arrested 180 individuals during three-day police operations from Feb. 24 to 26.
He said CIDG accomplished a total of 139 operations, arrested 180 individuals, and seizure of pieces of evidence worth PHP46,430.
Out of these numbers, under the CIDG's priority program thrusts, 26 police operations through the implementation of a Search Warrant were conducted against loose firearms or OPLAN Paglalansag Omega with 21 persons arrested and the confiscation of 29 firearms and three explosives.
In the campaign against wanted persons or OPLAN Pagtugis, the 71 manhunt operations resulted in the arrest of 22 Most Wanted Persons (MWPs) with six listed as Regional; 10 under Provincial; and six tagged as Municipal level, and 50 Other Wanted Persons (OWPs).
Three operations were conducted against the smuggling and trading of counterfeited items resulting in the arrest of two suspects while 27 operations were conducted on illegal gambling which led to the arrest of 79 individuals and two operations were likewise conducted against the unlawful destruction of natural resources which resulted in the arrest of two individuals.
The campaign against illegal refinery/manufacturing of liquified petroleum gas (LPG), the group carried out one operation, which resulted in the arrest of one person while in other law enforcement activities, nine police operations were conducted with three arrests and confiscation of two firearms.
“Ang mga numerong ito ay patunay na sa pagtutulungan ng ating kapulisan at komunidad ay madadala natin ang hustisya sa mga biktima at maihaharap ang mga kriminal sa batas na pilit nilang tinatakasan (These numbers are proof that with the cooperation of our police and community, we can bring justice to the victims and bring the criminals to face the law which they are trying to evade)," Caramat said.
Source: Philippines News Agency
