August 3, 2011

               

        

        Five Taiwanese nationals allegedly engaged in international telephone fraud in the Philippines were arrested by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Marikina yesterday.

        The suspects were identified by NBI Director Magtanggol B. Gatdula as:

        CHANG HUNG-YI; CHEN CHUN-HSIEN; HSIEH FU-CHIN; CHEN HUNG-LUN and HO WEI-HUNG, all residing at of No. 2 Pres. Laurel St., Industrial Valley Complex, Marikina City.

        On April 8, 2011, the NBI received a letter request from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines requested investigative assistance about a continuous operation of international telephone fraud in the Philippines.  Most of the victims are Taiwanese and Chinese nationals.

        Immediately thereafter, the NBI-National Capital Region Office coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau to obtain further information on the base of operation of the syndicate around Metro Manila and other parts of the country.

        A series of surveillance was conducted on the house located at No. 2 Pres. Laurel St., Industrial Valley Complex Marikina City.  Reliable information disclosed that the house is discreetly engaging in a “telephone fraud operation” managed by Taiwanese nationals.  During investigation of said area, a series of intertwined telephone/internet cables attached to the house was noticed.  It was also observed that almost daily, only the Filipino driver employed in the house was the one who purchased food and basic needs of these Chinese-speaking people.  Very seldom, did they leave the house.

        A search warrant was applied for the said premises  occupied by a certain Song Ming Dong and companions.  On August 1, 2011, Hon. Judge Zaldy B. Docena of the NCR-RTC  Branch 170 Malabon City, issued a search warrant for violation of Sec. 9, RA 8484 (The Access Device Regulation Act of 1998) directing NBI operatives to search the premises of Song Ming Dong in the aforementioned place.

        On August 2, 2011, NBI-NCR operatives proceeded to the house of Dong and served said search warrant.  In the premises were five (5) Taiwanese nationals simultaneously operating like call center agents.  Moreover, the operatives noticed that said foreign nationals were reading some documents which accordingly, appeared to be a “script” used by suspects in perpetuating their unlawful activities.

        The searched place yielded the following: a Linksys wireless router, PLDT My DSL modem, two digital decoder, four Nokia 1616-2 cellular phones, a Nokia 1682 c cellular phones, five broadband USB, an HSDPA USB modem, four Aus laptop, and an Acer laptop.

        The suspects were brought to the NBI and were referred for inquest proceedings today before the Marikina City Prosecutor’s Office.