Three million worth of butane canisters and refilling equipment were seized from a makeshift refilling plant in Barangay Tawason, Mandaue City on Wednesday afternoon.
The operation was conducted by personnel of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7) and the Department of Energy in Central Visayas(DOE-7)
DOE-7 legal officer lawyer Russ Mark Gamallo said that it was the second time that they conducted a raid on the same refilling plant following the first raid on February 24 this year.
“LPG is a mixture of butane (40%) and propane (60%), so it has very high pressure,” Gamallo added.
The owner of the refilling plant, Garry Mangubat, an incumbent councilor of Barangay Canduman, was filed with charges after the first raid.
The authorities confiscated 26,000 butane canisters, 300 pieces of 50-kilogram Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders, 3 compressors, 2 refilling machines, and a power transformer.