PNP: 67 foreigners among 99 suspects arrested after Parañaque scam hub raid

A total of 67 foreigners were among the 99 suspects in police custody after a raid of a suspected scam hub in Parañaque City early Thursday morning, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said.

In a press briefing, PNP spokesperson Police Colonel Jean Fajardo said authorities implemented a warrant to search, seize, and examine computer data in the said establishment at around 2 a.m.

“Ongoing po yung onsite inventory po ngayon but sa initial pong binigay sa ating information ay ang arrested po ay 59 Chinese, 32 Filipino, four Malaysian, two Myanmar, one Indonesian, at one Vietnamese. All in all po ay nasa 99 individuals po yung that were taken into custody,” she said.

(The onsite inventory is ongoing now, but the initial information given to us is that the arrested are 59 Chinese, 32 Filipinos, four Malaysians, two Burmese, one Indonesian, and one Vietnamese. All in all, there are 99 individuals that were taken into custody.)

Fajardo said the operation was conducted after police received information that the establishment was used for cryptocurrency investment and love scams.

According to a "24 Oras" report by John Consulta on Thursday, authorities were able to bring in a deep penetration agent who entered the company as an undercover employee to gather enough evidence for a search warrant.

“We found na nag-apply pa lang ng license, wala siyang license… Illegal ito,” said NCR Police Office Regional Director Major General Jose Nartatez Jr.

(We found that they were applying for a license, they had no license… This is illegal)

The authorities were able to find over 400 individuals involved in said scams inside the building during the operation, as well as a makeshift studio with an office, bedroom, and living room that they use for the scams.

They were also able to seize routers, computers, cell phones, and other gadgets.

According to Fajardo, some Filipino women were used as “models” performing acts bordering on obscenity to entice victims to invest in cryptocurrency.

“Bobolahin ko lang po, lalambingin… Yung taga-chat, sila na yun. Magtutulungan po [kami] na makuha yung loob nila… Sobrang dami na po [ng naloko ko]. Sa isang gabi, nakakatanggap na ako ng 50 calls,” said a model.

(I would flatter them, be affectionate… The ones who chat with them are the ones in charge of that. [We] help each other to get their trust… [I’ve scammed] so many people. In a night, I receive about 50 calls)

According to an employee, their victims would often invest in them and would not be able to withdraw their money.

“So lumalabas po itong mga Filipina po ay (it appears that these Filipinas) they were forced to work as scammers,” Fajardo said.

“Maraming naloloko dito. Our cybercrime incidents sa Metro Manila, napakarami as per data. Noong nagkaroon tayo ng operations on POGO or IGL, halos mabawasan,” Nartatez added.

(A lot of people have been scammed by this. As per our data, there have been so many cybercrime incidents in Metro Manila. When we had operations on POGO or IGL, there was a decrease)

The arrested suspects will face charges for violating the Cybercrime Prevention Act and the Securities Regulation Code.—With Jiselle Anne Casucian/RF, GMA Integrated News