Philippine National Bureau Of Investigation: Latest Seizure Of 32.64 Million Pesos Worth Of Illegal E-cigarettes, Three Individuals Arrested

On July 7th, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) of the Philippines seized approximately 32.64 million pesos (about 4.15 million yuan) of unregistered electronic cigarette products in Binayan City, Laguna Province.
The NBI stated that the operation team found 40,500 unregistered electronic cigarettes in the warehouse belonging to three suspects, valued at approximately 32 million pesos, as well as 3,880 electronic cigarette cartridges, valued at approximately 640,000 pesos.
These three suspects violated Article 4(d) and Article 18 of Republic Act No. 11900 (the "Nicotine Vaporization and Non-Nicotine Product Management Act"), as well as Article 8 of Republic Act No. 11900.

This operation originated from the cybercrime monitoring and surveillance efforts carried out by the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation - Special Operations Team on multiple social media platforms.
The agents discovered that there were extensive illegal import, sale and distribution activities of electronic cigarettes in the Amphoe Mai District and the In Lake District. By leveraging open-source intelligence and human intelligence, they successfully identified the responsible parties for these illegal activities. Additionally, they obtained the contact information, company details and social media accounts of the suspects.
The agents conducted surveillance and trial purchases at the Hype Electronic Cigarette Store on NIA Road, corner of Baokor Road in Baokor City, Amphoe Mai District, using online transactions. They successfully conducted transactions with the suspects. This confirmed that the store was involved in the illegal trading of unregistered electronic cigarettes and did not hold the necessary Philippine Tax Revenue Board (BIR) tax tickets or Philippine Trade and Industry Department (DTI) registration.
The undercover agent and the suspect agreed to meet at a coffee shop in Montin Lupar City, deliver the unregistered electronic cigarettes. On July 7, 2025, agents from the Philippine National Investigation Bureau and representatives from the Philippine Trade and Industry Department (DTI) went to the agreed location. Eventually, the three suspects led the agents to a warehouse in the Rose Village residential area of San Rosario City, In Lake District, to complete the transaction.

After arriving at the warehouse, the suspects displayed the electronic cigarette products, including 40,500 pieces of electronic cigarettes worth approximately 32 million Philippine pesos and 3,880 electronic cigarette cartridges worth approximately 640,000 Philippine pesos. The criminals were caught red-handed and three suspects were arrested for further investigation.