Operations against illicit trade: MICM and CECCOM intensify actions in commercial establishments
The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs (MICM), in a joint effort with the Specialized Corps for Fuel Control and Merchandise Trade (CECCOM), maintains a firm oversight strategy against businesses operating outside the law. To date, the authorities have managed to seize more than 30,000 illicit items in establishments belonging to the Asian commercial sector.
Among the confiscated products, which lacked the necessary legal permits for sale in the country, are high-end alcoholic beverages, various medications, sexual stimulants, and cigarettes, all of which pose a risk to public health and constitute an evasion of current regulations.
Decisive actions in Santiago and the national territory
The most recent supervision day took place in Santiago de los Caballeros. Under the coordination of Magistrate Lía Collado, prosecutor of the Electronic Crime Department, the establishments Mall Lindo, Well Being Malls, Plaza Moda Select, and Kindo Mall were intervened. During this deployment, 5,872 units of irregular products were removed from the market.
- 3,706 units of sexual stimulants.
- 2,141 units of medicines and miscellaneous merchandise without sanitary registration or labeling in Spanish.
- 25 bottles of premium alcoholic beverages.
These actions are in addition to the operations previously carried out in strategic sectors such as Los Alcarrizos, Villa Consuelo, Haina, and the Sánchez Highway, where authorities detected the same irregularities in the commercialization of products.
The MICM reaffirms its non-negotiable commitment to constant vigilance and the drastic prosecution of illegal trade, ensuring compliance with regulations that protect the consumer and the national treasury.
Legal framework and consumer protection
The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs recalled that these practices violate fundamental laws for the country’s economic and health security, including Law 17-19 on the Eradication of Illicit Trade, General Health Law No. 42-01, and General Customs Law No. 168-21.
The main reason for the authorities’ concern is the lack of fiscal traceability and the absence of sanitary registrations, in addition to the fact that many products do not comply with the mandatory requirement to present their labels in the Spanish language. The MICM assured that it will continue with these control operations throughout the Dominican territory to ensure a fair and safe market for all citizens.
