OVER P6-M E-BIKE BATTERIES, EQUIPMENT SEIZED IN PAMPANGA WAREHOUSE RAID

BY KEVIN GALANG

MORE  than P6 million worth of e-bike batteries, chargers, and related equipment on Tuesday was seized by joint operatives during the implementation of a search warrant on a business establishment in Mexico, Pampanga.

Members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), with personnel from the CIDG Regional Field Unit 3 headed by Col. Grant Gollod, Regional Special Operations Team, Police Regional Office 3’s Regional Special Operations Group, and the Mexico Municipal Police Station, conducted the operation under Oplan Megashopper at Antelope Electric Motor Warehouse A-10 in Bgy. Laug in Mexico town.

The operation was launched based on a search warrant issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 42 in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga for violation of Republic Act 7394 or the Consumer Act of the Philippines.

Seized were hundreds of boxes of CHILWEE and TIANNENG brand batteries for electric bicycles, 90 assorted e-bike chargers, 20 units of e-bikes, and a closed-circuit television digital video recorder (CCTV DVR).

Also confiscated were 95 boxes of CHILWEE batteries with product number 6-EVF-32.2, 57 boxes of CHILWEE batteries with product number 6-DZF-20, 66 boxes of CHILWEE batteries with product number 6-EVF-32, and dozens of other battery units of various specifications.

The total market value of the seized items was placed at approximately P6.02 million.

According to the CIDG, representatives and employees of the establishment failed to present permits and other pertinent documents to prove the legality of the business operation and the products stored inside the warehouse.

The confiscated items were brought to the CIDG Pampanga Provincial Field Unit headquarters for documentation and proper disposition.

Gollod said the operation forms part of the government’s continuing campaign against the distribution and sale of products that allegedly fail to comply with consumer protection laws and regulatory requirements.