P4.8 billion seized fake cigarettes destroyed after fire hits warehouses

PORAC, Pampanga, Philippines — Fake cigarettes, raw materials and cigarette-manufacturing machines worth around P4.8 billion went up in smoke when a fire hit three warehouses in this town on Monday.

Despite efforts by firefighters from this town and nearby areas, the fire, which started at around 1 p.m., was put out after 15 hours or at around 4 a.m. yesterday, according to a report of the Porac fire station.

The items that caught fire were seized by the Bureau of Customs and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in raids across the country in the past several years. These were stored in the warehouses for safekeeping to be used as evidence against suspects charged in court.

Among the items kept in the warehouses were fake cigarettes and raw materials confiscated by personnel of the BIR and police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Mabalacat City on June 24, 2021.

The warehouses, which are owned by Digama Waste Management Services and Greenleaf 88 Non-Hazardous Waste Disposal, were in a four-hectare lot in Barangay Mitla.

Robert Gaza, owner of Greenleaf 88, said only a few security personnel reported for work on Monday because it was a regular holiday.

“Yung mga security personnel napansin na may usok sa bandang likuran ng mga warehouse na magkakadikit bandang 1 p.m. Nung lumapit sila para tingnan, nabigla sila na mabilis nang kumakalat ang sunog,” Gaza said.