CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga — An illegal cigarette factory was raided in San Rafael town on Wednesday, leading to the seizure of P1.2 billion worth of products and equipment, the rescue of 155 trafficked individuals, and the arrest of a Chinese national.

Reports reaching Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan, regional police director of Central Luzon, indicated that the factory was located in Barangay Moranquillo, San Rafael, Bulacan. The arrested Chinese national was identified as Wu Qilong, also known as “Ronald” and “Tony.”

The raid was conducted under Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Mission Order No. MS0201700024179, dated November 5, 2024, in accordance with Section 6(C) of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997. The operation involved agents from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, the San Rafael Municipal Police Station, BIR Region 5 representatives from Caloocan, and the Central Luzon Police Office.

Confiscated items included:
● Cigarettes: 116,700 packs and 1,750,000 sticks of New Berlin, 182,000 packs and 5,000 sticks of New Two Moon menthol, and various other brands including Dunston Red, Modern, RGD Red, Champion Mild menthol, Richman Royal, Carnival Menthol, Fort Menthol, and Soda Red.
● Raw Materials: 373 small sacks and 47 big sacks of tobacco, 178 sacks of tobacco boxes, 5,244,000 cigarette filters, 1,005 rolls of cigarette paper, 800 rolls of filter paper, and 659 rolls of cigarette foil.
● Packaging Materials: Hundreds of thousands of hinge lid blanks and soft pack labels for brands like RGD, New Two Moon, Champion Mild Menthol, and Soda.
● Machinery and Equipment: Three cigarette-making lines, nine machine parts, five packing lines, and 28 machine parts.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the factory had a daily production capacity of 12.9 million sticks or 1,300 to 1,500 master cases.

The seized items included production equipment valued at P800 million, raw materials worth P400 million, and finished products worth P45 million, bringing the total to approximately P1.245 billion.

Inventory and seizure procedures were conducted by BIR revenue officers led by Wrenolph Panganiban, witnessed by Barangay Moranquillo officials Rosemarie dela Cruz and Victor Cruz Bagay.

The arrested Chinese national faces charges for violations of Republic Act 9208, also known as the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, as amended by RA 10364 (the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012).

📷 Nehru Sulejmanovski, Unsplash