Chinese citizen rescued, 17 others nabbed in Tagaytay scam hub

A Chinese citizen was rescued while 17 others were arrested at a rest house in Tagaytay City that was allegedly being used for crypto scamming operations.

According to a 24 Oras report by Emil Sumangil on Wednesday, the National Bureau of Immigration (NBI) apprehended 17 Chinese men, and seized several phones, sim cards, and computers allegedly used for cryptoscams.

“Lahat ‘yan[g cellphones ay] pang-transfer ng pera, pang-crypto… Nakita niyo, puro Chinese characters,” said NBI Director Jaime Santiago.

(All of these [cellphones are] for transferring money, for crypto… You can see these are full of Chinese characters.)

The NBI said the Chinese citizens were staying at the rest house, which the victim revealed was a scam farm.

“Actually, gusto na niyang umalis sa grupo pero ayaw siyang pakalasin kaya binugbog siya… [Siya ay] binugbog [at] kinukuryente,” added Santiago.

(Actually, he wanted to leave the group but they didn't want him to, so he was beaten up… [He was] beaten up [and] electrocuted.)

The victim was allegedly tortured to prevent him from telling the authorities about the illegal activities in the rest house.

The suspects will undergo inquest procedures on Thursday for violating the Cybercrime Prevention Act. The seized devices will also undergo further examination. —Jiselle Anne Casucian/RF, GMA Integrated News