2 Nigerian nationals nabbed for operating love scam 

Two Nigerian nationals were arrested in a house in Cavite that was allegedly running love scam operations. 

According to John Consulta's report on "24 Oras," the Regional Special Operations unit and Tanza Police arrested the suspects who were believed to have come from the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) hub in Bamban, Tarlac.

"'Di lang mga Pilipino kundi pati foreigners ang binibiktima nila. Sila ay nag-aral somewhere in Central Luzon, hanggang sa sila’y narecruit sa Bamban, Tarlac kung saan sila ay nagtrabaho sa isang POGO. Nung nakita na nila at nalaman kung paano magtrabaho sa isang POGO, sila ay umalis doon at nagtayo ng sarili nila,” said Police Brigadier General Kenneth Paul Lucas, Police Region Office-4A regional director. 

(They victimize not only Filipinos but also foreigners. They studied somewhere in Central Luzon until they were recruited in Bamban, Tarlac where they worked in a POGO. When they learned how POGO operated, they left and built their own.) 

The mobile phones loaded with dating applications to be used in fraud were also confiscated. 

The Calabarzon Police detected the illegal activity after a report of a Filipina who’s allegedly being abused in the love scam hub.

“Sabi niya ako raw ang magmo-model, ako ang makikipagcommunicate sa mga client, ayoko po. Ayoko po kasing gagamitin niya mukha ko para manloko ng ibang tao. Yung sampal niya, literal na tatama sa buong mukha ko, sobrang laki ng palad niya. Nahirapan na rin akong makarinig, humina po siya,” said the complainant.

(He said I will model, I will communicate with clients, I don't want to. I don't want him to use my face to scam people. He slapped me, his hand was too big. My hearing got affected.)

One of the suspects denied the assault.

“I’m not holding her against her will. I never caused her injury,” he said. 

But the other suspect, who’s fluent in Filipino, confirmed that they worked in a POGO in Bamban, Tarlac, and learned about love scam operations there.

“May kontak kami doon sa Bamban, Tarlac. Pagdating namin doon, di namin alam yung mismong ginagawa doon, hanggang sa nalaman din namin. Marami na pong problema, di po namin alam gagawin, di pwede magtrabaho dito kaya walang choice. Di naman literal na nagtayo, nag-try lang po,” said the other suspect. 

(We have contact there in Bamban, Tarlac. When we got there, we didn't know exactly what was being done there, until we found out. There were already many problems, we didn't know what to do, we couldn't work here so there was no choice. I didn't literally build it, I just tried.) 

The two arrested suspects were charged with illegal detention and violation of the Cybercrime Prevention Act.—Sherylin Untalan/LDF, GMA Integrated News