Three traders indicted for selling fake cigarettes
Lawyer Ricardo Diaz, National Bureau of Investigation Regional director, inspects the cartons of fake Mighty cigarettes worth P122,000 confiscated in Cebu City.
(CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Three traders are facing trial for allegedly selling fake cigarettes worth P122,000 in Cebu City.
In a press conference yesterday, NBI 7 Director Ricardo Diaz said they arrested the suspects after receiving the complaint of representatives from Mighty Cigarettes who said that fake products bearing their brand name were being sold in Cebu City.
“We did not reveal this illegal trade to the media right away because we conducted follow up operations to find out where these counterfeit cigarettes came from,” he said.
The Cebu City Prosecutors’ Office has indicted Carrisa Mae Juanico of Mandaue City; Glenn Suquib of Mabolo, Cebu City; and Kevin Takiao of Lapu-Lapu City for violating Republic Act 8293 or the Trademark Infringement and Unfair Competition Law.
The three accused were arrested by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) last Feb. 24 after delivering 11 huge cartons of counterfeit Mighty cigarettes in barangay San Nicolas in Cebu City.
Juanico allegedly received the marked money while the two other accused brought the counterfeit items on board a taxicab.
The case against the three accused is pending before Judge Ramon Daomilas of the Regional Trial Court of Branch 11.
Juanico, Suquib, and Takiao were released from detention after they posted bail of P40,000 each.
RA 8293, which the accused violated, holds liable any person who shall, without the consent of the owner of a registered trademark, use in commerce any reproduction, counterfeit, or copy of a registered trademark which can cause confusion or to cause mistake or to deceive the customers.
Diaz said they uncovered the illegal operations of the accused after they conducted test buys in different markets in Cebu City.
The NBI, however, has yet to determine the manufacturer of the fake products.
NBI head Rennan Augustus Oliva, the team leader of the operation, said the fake cigaratte products will pose health risks to users.
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