17 Chinese nationals arrested at a scam hub in Iloilo have admitted to violating Republic Act No. 10175 (the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012).
The Executive Director of the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center (CICC), Mr. Lan Mus, said in a statement on August 8 that following their arrest last November in a joint operation by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and Iloilo City Police, the suspects hope to negotiate lesser sentences by pleading guilty.
Plea bargaining, or plea deals, involves the defendants acknowledging their crimes and negotiating an acceptable penalty.
Mr. Lan Mus mentioned that the final decision on approving their plea bargains rests with the court.
He added that the plea bargaining will take into account the severity of the crime, the presence of any aggravating or mitigating circumstances, and the willingness of both parties to negotiate.
He noted that the arrest was made possible through a "whole government approach" that successfully combatted organized cybercrime.
After more than a month of surveillance and under a search warrant issued by Iloilo City's Court Branch 39 on November 4, 2023, the scam hub located in the Jaro district, Lawa-an area of Iloilo City, was raided during the joint operation.
In this operation, law enforcement officers seized 24 computers, 49 mobile phones, 2 switches, 2 routers, 4 boxes of SIM cards, and many other equipments.
