Authorities in Laguna province have reportedly busted an alleged major operation of "paihi" or pilferage of petroleum products in San Pablo City, Laguna last Wednesday, April 8.
Six individuals were nabbed inside a hotel and resort compound in Barangay San Antonio 1 in this city for allegedly dispensing, short-selling, hoarding, and adulterating petroleum products.
Two of the suspects were injured after attempting to flee by jumping from a tanker, according to a report by PNP Chief P/Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez.
During the operation, authorities seized an oil tanker with an estimated value of ₱2 million, 54 square tanks valued at ₱351,000, and petroleum products consisting of approximately 8,800 liters of gasoline valued at ₱849,200.00 and 900 liters of CME valued at ₱18,000, as well as various paraphernalia such as steel drums, funnels, and 25-liter containers.
The total estimated value of all confiscated items amounted to ₱3,513,050, Nartatez added.
“This operation underscores that tampering with petroleum products will not be tolerated. Protecting the supply for our communities is a top priority,” the police chief said in the statement.
Nartatez added that the police are now looking into the possibility that the San Pablo operation may be linked to an even bigger syndicate.
"While we treat every case with specific focus, we are not setting aside the possibility that this is part of a larger syndicate. So far, there are initial findings that the incident is localized but our intelligence monitoring continues to determine if there is a wider network behind these operations," he said.
Amid the current spike in oil prices due to the war in the Middle East since last month, authorities have intensified its efforts to curb incidents of pilferage of oil products, known as "paihi," as well as hoarding and unreasonable increase in the prices of petroleum.
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