SEVEN Chinese and a Vietnamese suspected as scammers were arrested in an operation in Ayala Alabang Village in Muntinlupa City, the Department of Justice said yesterday.
In a statement, the DOJ said the operation, carried out with the Bureau of Immigration, National Bureau of Investigation and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, stemmed from information provided by residents and corroborated by intelligence regarding the presence of the foreigners in the posh village.
The DOJ said three Chinese were initially nabbed, two of whom were found to be overstaying in the country, while the other one could not present any documentation.
It said one of the three served for a time as a manager of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in Porac, Pampanga.
“Upon entry, there was a live computer operated by a Chinese individual. When read by an interpreter, the screen showed scripts used in a standard phishing scam,” the DOJ said, adding operatives also found a voice-over IP, an equipment usually used in telephone scams to avoid detection.
Four Chinese and the Vietnamese were later arrested.
The DOJ said four failed to present documentation and were considered illegally staying in the country.
“One Chinese national, though not lacking in documentation, is suspected to have harbored the illegal aliens in violation of immigration laws,” the DOJ said.
Malacanang has set a December 31 deadline for the closure of all POGO operations in the country, with the DOJ and BI saying that foreign POGO workers who fail to leave will face deportation and blacklisting to prevent their reentry into the country.
