Senate seeks probe into smuggling of 2 Bugatti luxury cars

A Senate investigation into the “outright” smuggling of luxury items in the Philippines has been sought after the seizure of two Bugatti Chiron luxury cars.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of Senate ways and means committee, filed Senate proposed Resolution 954 to “determine the lapses and loopholes in government processes that led to the continued persistence of outright smuggling of luxury items in the country, including cars.”

Gatchalian said this “deprives the government of much-needed revenues and poses a serious and great threat to the national economy.”

“Based on the foregoing, it is necessary for the government to assess the scale of car smuggling in the country, enhance border control measures, and deploy cutting-edge methods and technologies to combat luxury car smuggling,” he said.

In his resolution, Gatchalian mentioned the Bureau of Customs investigation about the two luxury vehicles that entered the Philippines without going through regular customs clearance based on the information that it received in November 2023.

The probe was followed by the issuance of a warrant of seizure and detention on February 2 against the two undocumented Bugatti Chiron sports cars which have been frequently seen in Metro Manila and its adjacent cities.

The Management Information Systems and Technology Group confirmed that the blue Bugatti with license plate “NIM 5448” and the red Bugatti (NIM 5450) did not go through regular customs clearances, according to Gatchalian’s resolution.

The luxury cars, which allegedly worth P165 million each, are reportedly registered under a certain Menguin Zhu and a certain Thru Trang Nguyen.

Both were surrendered to the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service at the Manila International Container Port in two separate days in February.

Last month, Senator Raffy Tulfo also delivered a privilege speech on the two luxury vehicles and disclosed that these were registered with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) using fake documents from the BOC.

After Tulfo’s speech, the  Senate Blue Ribbon Committee has been tasked to investigate the alleged smuggling of two Bugatti Chiron sports cars.—RF, GMA Integrated News