Authorities raided an illegal fertilizer manufacturing facility in Nueva Ecija and arrested four individuals in separate operations on 15 July as part of the government's campaign against agricultural fraud and economic sabotage.

Police said joint operatives from the Talavera Municipal Police Station, the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA), and the complainant arrested three individuals in Barangay San Ricardo, Talavera, for allegedly selling counterfeit fertilizer products.

Seized during the operation were 260 bags of counterfeit fertilizers bearing various brand names, with an estimated value of P258,000.

Information gathered during the raid led authorities to an unregistered fertilizer manufacturing warehouse in Sitio Balasing, Barangay Sta. Monica, Rizal, Nueva Ecija.

A follow-up operation conducted by personnel from the Rizal and Talavera municipal police stations, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Nueva Ecija Provincial Field Unit, the Regional Special Operations Group 3, the Provincial Intelligence Unit of the Nueva Ecija Police Provincial Office, and the FPA resulted in the arrest of the warehouse owner.

Authorities discovered about 500 bags of illegally manufactured fertilizer and 21 granulator machines allegedly used to produce counterfeit fertilizer products.

Police said the owner failed to present the permits and registration documents required by the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority.

The confiscated fertilizers, machinery, and delivery trucks, with an estimated value of P900,000, were turned over to the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority for documentation and proper disposition.

Authorities said the operations underscore the government's continuing efforts to curb the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit agricultural products that could harm farmers and undermine the country's agricultural sector.