NBI arrests 3 for selling registered SIM cards

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Tuesday announced that it has arrested three individuals in Pasay City for allegedly selling registered SIM cards.

According to the agency, the NBI Cybercrime Division (NBI-CCD) arrested Beverly Cruz, Keone Lebumfacil, and Aljon Reyes in two separate operations on September 8.

The NBI said the operation stemmed from the information that individuals were selling registered SIM cards on Facebook, which were allegedly being used for fraudulent purposes.

The NBI said an account with the name “Nopce Naldz” commented on a FB group that he is selling 1,000 pieces of SIM cards. The account then agreed to meet with a poseur buyer at a convenience store in Pasay.

Cruz arrived at the meeting place and gave three cards — one registered and two unregistered — to the poseur buyer for verification. After receiving payment, the NBI nabbed Cruz.

Meanwhile, another FB account with the name "Armando Samling" made several posts claiming that he had thousands of SIM cards for sale.

After agreeing to a transaction Samling, the poseur buyer declined to meet up and said that only a delivery rider would pick up the SIM cards. 

The poseur delivery rider then met with Lebumfacil and Reyes, who gave him the SIM cards. They were then arrested after they received payment for the SIM cards.

According to the NBI, a total of 1,023 SIM cards were seized.

The three were presented for inquest proceedings before the Office of the City Prosecutor in Pasay for violation of Section 7 of the SIM Registration Act in relation to Section 6 and Section 4 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. —VAL, GMA Integrated News