Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) seized some P2-million worth of fake Louis Vuitton bags and wallets during raids on several outlets in Mandaluyong City.

NBI Director Nestor M. Mantaring identified the stall outlets as stalls L2A 07 and 08, stall L2A 02 and 03, BNW Bags and Wallets Store at stall L2A-10, all located on the 2nd floor of St. Francis Square Mall, Julia Vargas Ave. corner Bank Drive, Mandaluyong City.

The raid stemmed from the complaint of Louis Vuitton regarding fake bags and wallets bearing the trade name Louis Vuitton which were sold to the public causing large revenue loss to the complainant. Operatives of the NBI–Intellectual Property Rights Division (IPRD) conducted surveillance on the stalls and confirmed the complaint.

Armed with search warrants issued by Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC), the NBI operatives conducted the raids on the sales outlets recently in Mandaluyong City.

The successive raids resulted in the seizure of 128 pieces of counterfeit Louis Vuitton bags and 124 pieces of fake Louis Vuitton wallets.

The owners of the establishments are facing Section 168 (unfair competition) in relation to Section 170 of Republic Act 8293 (Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines).

In another development, NBI operatives seized counterfeit New Era caps worth some P100 million (at average cost of genuine product), during simultaneous raids conducted in Manila and Pasay cities on Wednesday.

The raids stemmed from the complaint of the distributor of New Era caps in the country.

The New Era Cap Company or New Era located in Buffalo, New York, is a headwear manufacturer. It is the exclusive manufacturer and marketer of the official on-field cap worn by every Major League Baseball team and their minor league affiliates, and maintains agreements with other licensed entities and over 200 colleges and universities in the United States.

Raided were the sales outlet and stockroom of R.R. Toribio General Merchandise and/or Chen Zhi Gong and/or Xu Lin Jin and/or Gong Dong Liang located at Stall J-10, Ground Floor, Baclaran Terminal Plaza Mall, Taft Avenue Extension, Pasay City, and at 815 Alvarado Street, Binondo, City of Manila.

Investigation conducted by the Intellectual Property Rights Division (IPRD) headed by Regional Director Elfren Meneses said the NBI operatives were armed with search warrants issued by Judge Cielito N. Mindaro-Grulla, of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 29 when they conducted the raid on Wednesday.

Seized from the two establishments were 42,436 pieces of counterfeit “New Era” caps, according to the post operation report of Special Investigator IV Carlos Borromeo.

The owners of the raided establishments are facing charges of Trademark Infringement under the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines or Republic Act 8293.