Suspects in alleged trafficking of over 1,000 people face raps

MANILA — About a dozen suspects in the alleged trafficking into the Philippines of more than 1,000 people are now facing a number of complaints before the Department of Justice, the agency said Monday.

“Yes, I was told that there were more than 10 who had to undergo inquest last Saturday. Noong Sabado ‘yan. When we arrived from the US, I think after 2 hours, I think 8 o’clock in the morning, some people were brought in for inquest already,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla told the media.

He said the suspects are foreign nationals and he has no information so far whether Filipinos were also involved in the alleged fraudulent scheme.

The complaints include those for human trafficking in relation to violation of the Anti-Cybercrime law, serious illegal detention/kidnapping and violation of Immigration laws, according to DOJ spokesperson Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano.

The victims were rescued last Thursday in Pampanga.

In a press release Monday, the DOJ said the suspected traffickers agreed to undergo a preliminary investigation and are set to file their counter-affidavits on May 15.

Of the more than 1,000 victims, 129 were Filipinos. The rest are nationals of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam, according to the DOJ press briefer.

The victims were allegedly recruited “as call center agents to entice foreign customers from the United States, Canada, and Europe to invest in cryptocurrency. The victims, mostly male, were instructed to pretend to be attractive women to lure their victims to invest.”

If all the alleged traffickers were foreigners, how did they manage to operate a “call center” in Pampanga?

Remulla said he will meet with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) regarding the licenses it has been issuing.

He said he will also meet with the Bureau of Immigration.

Capt. Michelle Sabino, spokesperson of the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group, told ANC Rundown that the alleged traffickers were operating several buildings within a compound from where the victims were not allowed to leave.

She said the “call center” in Pampanga has been operating for two years, based on interviews with rescued victims. 

“This is actually the first time that we’re hearing something big like this, but it’s not purely crypto,” she said.

Sabino said the trafficking victims were allegedly ordered to entice customers/potential victims in 2 ways:

-Make an investment

-Make their customers fall in love with them and invest in a house, car or business

Some of the confiscated items in the Pampanga raid are laptops and cellphones, supposedly used to trick customers or their potential victims to send money or make investments.

According to Sabino, the buildings they raided in Pampanga had video rooms made to appear like a bedroom, office or even a gym to deceive the customers and make them believe they’re talking to real and well-off people.

Remulla said it is possible there could be many more victims of similar schemes.

The scheme is similar to “call center” crypto-scams in Myanmar and Cambodia that recruit Filipino trafficking victims.

“It’s something happening around the world. It’s not just in the Philippines where this is happening. It’s happening in Indonesia, it’s happening in Myanmar, it’s happening in Thailand, it’s happening everywhere, where people operate such schemes to defraud people. And remembe,r Luffy was operating here based on a similar scheme to defraud people,” he said.

“The phenomenon of the internet has caused many variations in behavior of people, so that people become more vulnerable through the internet. The internet is already the purveyor, or the means by which people commit crime. And in fact, when you look at the crimes now, more than 80 percent of crimes have a digital fingerprint within these crimes,” he added.

Remulla stressed the need for more funding for digital tools to analyze cybercrimes.

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