Barrels of fuel are stored in a compound in Cebu City. NBI-7 seized hundreds of liters of diesel and gasoline during two simultaneous raids conducted on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. The fuel products were sold without regulatory permits and documents, said NBI-7 special investigator Arnel Pura. | via Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines—At least P1 million worth of fuel sold illegally were confiscated during a series of raids in the cities of Cebu and Mandaue.
The operation, led by the Central Visayas offices of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI-7) and the Department of Energy (DOE-7), also resulted in the arrest of three individuals.
Enforcers seized hundreds of liters of diesel and gasoline during two simultaneous raids conducted on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. The fuel products were sold without regulatory permits and documents, said NBI-7 special investigator Arnel Pura.
They apprehended a caretaker, identified as John Lloyd Sumalinog, of a privately owned compound being used as a distribution and selling point of the illegally sold petroleum in Brgy. Subangdaku, Mandaue City.
In a follow-up entrapment operation, agents also arrested two more helpers, Antonio Montellano Cellar Jr. and Diether Matbagon Tagalog, in another property being used for the illegal trade in Brgy. Carreta, Cebu City.
“Cellar and Tagalog were caught in the act of selling petroleum products without any authority from DOE,” said Pura.
However, the subjects of the two operations in Cebu City and Mandaue City, Reofel Cababan and Yen-Yen Pasaol, were not present when operatives raided their properties.
Cababan and Pasaol both remain at large, said NBI-7.
Pura said the raids stemmed from information they received from the Visayas Unified Truckers Association Inc., alleging that certain truck drivers and truckers were moonlighting as illegal distributors of petroleum products.
In the meantime, Cellar, Tagalog, and Sumalinog, all of whom currently under NBI-7’s custody, will be facing charges for violating Presidential Decree 1865.
/bmjo
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