Fifteen Chinese nationals and 80 Filipinos were arrested on Thursday, October 17, after a raid on an illegal cigarette manufacturing facility in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija.
The operation, conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Central Luzon Regional Office 3, in collaboration with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), resulted in the seizure of counterfeit cigarettes, fake BIR tax stamps, and raw materials valued at ₱600 million and ₱200 million, respectively.
Authorities discovered that the factory had been using generators to avoid detection by keeping its electricity consumption low. Upon entering the facility, they found machines used for cigarette production and over 300 packs of counterfeit products.
According to officials, the factory was falsely labeling the cigarettes as imported goods to deceive consumers. NBI also revealed that the supposed tobacco used in the counterfeit cigarettes appeared to be mixed with wood shavings and preserved with harmful chemicals, including formalin.
"Supposedly tobacco pero parang pinagkataman ng kahoy. Talagang napakadelikado nito. Kung yung yung tobacco delikado sa katawan edi lalo na ito, at pinepreserve nila using formalin,"NBI Chief Jaime Santiago told reporters.
While the raid was successful in apprehending many of those involved, the factory's main operator, believed to be a Chinese national, managed to evade arrest and is reportedly in Taiwan.
The BIR highlighted the ongoing problem of tax evasion caused by the illegal cigarette trade, which costs the government billions of pesos annually.
