Philippines Seizes 81,000 “TEAM PAPA” Vape Pods Worth Over $9.7 Million

Key points:

Operation Overview: The Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) conducted a raid on the night of May 8, 2025, seizing a large quantity of illegal e-cigarette products.

Details of the seizure: A total of 81,200 e-cigarette pods under the brand "TEAM PAPA" were seized, involving taxes and fines exceeding 543 million pesos (9.7 million USD).

Nature of violation: illegal e-cigarette products not affixed with the consumption tax stamp issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, in violation of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 (as amended).

Method of crime: Criminals hide illegal e-cigarette products in homes and garages in an attempt to evade regulation.

Follow-up actions: The BIR is urging the public to report illegal e-cigarette sales activities and promises to verify and crack down on the reported information.

On May 15, Romeo D. Lumagui Jr., Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in the Philippines, announced that a joint enforcement operation conducted by the BIR and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on May 8, 2025, resulted in the seizure of a large quantity of illegal e-cigarette products. The operation took place in a residential area in Marilao, Bulacan province, where 81,200 "TEAM PAPA" brand e-cigarette pods were seized. The products were found to be worth a total of 5.43739 billion pesos ($9.7 million) in taxes and fines.

In the raided residential garage, law enforcement officers discovered 406 main boxes containing the aforementioned e-cigarette pods. These products did not have the consumer tax stamp issued by the BIR, clearly violating the relevant provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 (as amended).

Lumaji pointed out,

"Criminals involved in illegal e-cigarette activities have begun using residential homes and neighborhoods to hide their illicit products. In this residence in Malirao, we found over 81,000 illegal e-cigarette pods, resulting in taxes and fines totaling over 543 million Philippine pesos (9.7 million US dollars)."

He also stated that criminals may face multiple charges of violation of the National Internal Revenue Law, including Article 258 (illegal business operations), Article 263 (failure to declare taxes on unlawfully held or transferred taxable items), and Article 254 (attempting to evade taxes).

Lumaji calls on the public to actively report any form of illegal e-cigarette sales, including online sales websites, and provide the names and exact locations of retailers and distributors.