THREE Chinese nationals have been charged before the Mandaue City Prosecutor’s Office with allegedly selling counterfeit drugs after an operation that resulted in the seizure of items valued at nearly P500,000, officials of the National Bureau of Investigation Central Visayas Regional Office (NBI Cevro) said Tuesday, March 22, 2022.Shi Wenpai, proprietor of Hua Long Market, and Wu Xiao, manager of Laoxiang Supermarket, both on A.S. Fortuna St. in Mandaue City, Cebu, were caught in the act of selling and/or offering for sale counterfeit drugs to the public last Friday, March 18, according to the NBI-Cevro in a statement.Laoxiang Supermarket owner Alexine Rapunzel Ong Dy is still at large.On March 18, the NBI Cevro, NBI Cebu District Office, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Central Visayas had implemented a search warrant issued on March 17 by Executive Judge Allan Francisco Garciano of Mandaue City for violation of Section 4 in relation to Section 8 of Republic Act 8203 or the Special Law on Counterfeit Drugs.During the raid, Shi and Wu “failed to show the registration of the medicines and the permit/authority to dispense the same in the Philippines,” the NBI Cevro said.“Seized from their possession and control were Amoxicillin capsules 0.25 grams, OCT Lianhua Qingwen Jiaonang; CSPC Arbidol Hydrochloride tablets 0.1g; WT 20150009 (label in Chinese characters),” the NBI Cevro said.Shi and Wu were subjected to inquest proceedings on March 21.An inquest proceeding is an informal and summary investigation conducted by a public prosecutor in criminal cases involving persons arrested and detained without the benefit of an arrest warrant issued by the Court to determine whether these persons should remain under the custody and correspondingly be charged in Court, according to the Department of Justice.