This Thursday, the Government of Mexico seized 3 million products of illicit origin in Ensenada, Baja California, with a value of 320 million pesos (almost 16 million dollars), the largest seizure so far of the current Administration, reported the head of the Ministry of Economy, Marcelo Ebrard.
“It is one of the most important operations that has been carried out in Mexico, there are more than 3 million pieces, remind you that when we started there were around 300,000 items, we are now at 3 million,” said the official at a press conference.
Among the seized products are perfumes, toys, household appliances, textiles, among others, from six Asian countries: Taiwan, Indonesia, China, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Vietnam.
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Ebrard explained that during the so-called ‘Operations Cleaning’, which have been carried out in Mexico City, Ensenada and Hermosillo (Sonora), and which aim to seize products of illicit origin, products with a combined value of 500 million have been seized. of pesos (about 24.7 million dollars).
371 elements and 190 units participated in the operation, including personnel from the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), the National Defense, the Navy, the National Guard, the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) and the State Police.
Ebrard asserted that the insured items violate “all intellectual property regulations,” they do not have the corresponding Notice of Operation, while the foods were not labeled in Spanish and their expiration date was not visible.
Likewise, it warned that expired products were found or that promoted misleading benefits and that they did not have the relevant health records.
“You can’t sell those things in Mexico,” the official remarked.
Ebrard explained that due to these anomalies, seven patents have been withdrawn from customs agencies and 40 more are subject to investigation, by allowing the entry of illegal merchandise.
“The customs agency is jointly responsible for that reason they are paid, it is establishing what the request consists of and if they are lying to you in the request or in the value, then the customs agency is jointly responsible,” he said.
Ebrard explained that the entry of these products affects the national industry and jobs.
“For example, the textile industry, just the textile industry, has lost 79,000 (jobs) in a little more than a year and those families will not easily find a place to work, so we protect employment,” he emphasized.
With information from EFE
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