• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Authorities seized about 1,420 liters of suspected illegally traded diesel fuel worth P120,700 and arrested a 56-year-old man in a buy-bust operation in Barangay Banago, Bacolod City Nov. 3.
Operatives of the Regional Intelligence Division of the Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR) conducted the operation at around 5 p.m. in Purok Nami-Nami following reports of alleged large-scale illegal siphoning, storage, and trading of petroleum products.
The suspect, identified only as alias “Panoy,” was apprehended after allegedly selling P1,000 worth of diesel fuel to a police poseur-buyer using marked money.
Police said the confiscated fuel was valued at approximately P120,700 based on the prevailing diesel price of P85 per liter.
Also recovered from the site were five 200-liter drums, 14 containers with a capacity of 30 liters each containing suspected diesel, 13 empty buckets, around 150 empty containers, and four manual rotary pumps with discharge hoses.
Authorities likewise impounded three panel vans and an L300 vehicle allegedly used in the storage and transport of petroleum products.
Initial investigation showed that the operation was allegedly being conducted without a Certificate of Compliance from the Department of Energy and a fire safety clearance from the Bureau of Fire Protection.
PRO-NIR called on the public to report suspicious activities involving the illegal storage, siphoning, and trading of petroleum products through the nearest police station or official police communication channels. | GPB
