The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) of the Philippines announced that on January 8th, an operation was conducted in Barangay Tambo, Parañaque City, Metro Manila, resulting in the arrest of 12 Chinese citizens suspected of telecommunications fraud. Subsequently, 5 Filipinos who attempted to bribe for the release of these suspects were also arrested.
In a statement, the NBI revealed that its agents, in collaboration with the Bureau of Immigration, conducted a raid in Barangay Tambo, capturing the 12 Chinese men on the spot. It is noted that this large-scale law enforcement operation led to the arrest of over 400 foreign nationals, with these 12 possibly being among the suspects.
During the on-site search, law enforcement officers discovered scripts and evidence related to romance scams, fake investment schemes, and cryptocurrency frauds.
As the agents were preparing to transport these Chinese nationals to the NBI, a Filipino-Chinese man named Ezechiel Bernales, who claimed to be a translator, volunteered to accompany them. He indicated that someone was willing to bribe for the release of the suspects, offering 300,000 pesos per person, totaling 3.6 million pesos.
The NBI noted that the agents pretended to accept the bribe but actually arranged a sting operation. On January 10th, four Filipino men arrived at the NBI office parking lot in Caloocan City in three cars, attempting to deliver the bribe money, and were arrested on the spot. The police seized 900,000 pesos in cash, which was originally intended to secure the release of the first three Chinese men.
Currently, these five Filipino suspects are detained at the Pasay City Prosecutor's Office for interrogation on charges of bribery, while the 12 Chinese men are under investigation at the Parañaque City Prosecutor's Office and are accused of violating the Cybercrime Prevention Act and the Anti-Financial Account Fraud Act, suspected of economic sabotage crimes.
According to the NBI, the searched location was an illegal POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator) hub. Jeremy Lotoc, head of the NBI Cybercrime Division, stated that the arrested individuals include POGO supervisors and three main managers, preliminary investigations show their involvement in romance and investment scams.
Moreover, Lotoc mentioned that among the arrested Filipinos, one appeared in a video of a beating played during a congressional hearing, suspected of acting as a thug.
Van Homer Angluben, executive officer of the Cybercrime Division, added that a Filipino suspect made an extrajudicial confession with a lawyer present, admitting that one of the Chinese citizens was the mastermind behind organizing the bribery.
This operation highlights the complexity of transnational fraud activities, and the relevant departments have expressed their intention to continue in-depth investigations to expose more criminal networks.
