P2.5-billion fake cigarettes seized in Pangasinan

BUGALLON, Pangasinan, Philippines  —  Counterfeit cigarettes with an estimated market value of P2.5 billion were seized while 28 Chinese and Filipino workers were arrested in a raid on a factory in Barangay Portic in this town on Wednesday.

Rizaldy Jaymalin, chief of the National Bureau of Investigation office in Dagupan, confirmed the raid, adding that several machines and materials used to manufacture cigarettes were confiscated. 

The factory reportedly manufactures around 20,000 cigarette sticks a day, which are sold in Ilocos, Cagayan Valley and Metro Manila.

A piggery reportedly serves as a front for the factory.