CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga — Authorities have dismantled an illegal fertilizer manufacturing facility and arrested four individuals in separate operations across Nueva Ecija as part of the government's campaign against agricultural fraud and economic sabotage.

Joint operatives from the Talavera Municipal Police Station and the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) first arrested three suspects in Barangay San Ricardo, Talavera, after they were allegedly caught selling counterfeit fertilizer products, the Police Regional Office 3 (PRO3) reported Thursday.

Authorities seized 260 bags of counterfeit fertilizers bearing various brand names with an estimated value of P258,000.

Information obtained during the operation led investigators to an unregistered fertilizer manufacturing warehouse in Sitio Balasing, Barangay Sta. Monica, Rizal, Nueva Ecija.

A follow-up operation involving 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 and the discovery of the illegal manufacturing facility.

Inside the warehouse, authorities found about 500 bags of illegally manufactured fertilizer and 21 granulator machines allegedly used to produce counterfeit fertilizer products. The owner was unable to present the permits and registration documents required by the FPA.

The confiscated fertilizers, machinery, and delivery trucks, with a combined estimated value of P900,000, were turned over to the FPA for documentation and proper disposition.

PRO3 Regional Director Brig. Gen. Jess B. Mendez said the operation forms part of the continuing effort to protect farmers from counterfeit and substandard agricultural products.

"Through close coordination with our partner agencies, we will continue to pursue those engaged in illegal manufacturing and distribution that exploit our farming communities," Mendez said.