7 Chinese nationals arrested for 'fraud, attempt to bribe' NBI agents
Seven Chinese nationals have been arrested for alleged fraud and attempt to bribe agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) with P1.5 million in exchange for their release.
NBI Director Jaime Santiago presented on Tuesday, July 30, the seven Chinese nationals who were identified as Sun Jie, Lee Ching Ho, Jenny Pan, Zhao Zheng, Dong Jianhua, Yuan Bien and Shao Wen Hu.
The NBI said Sun Jie and Lee Ching Ho were the first to be arrested by operatives of the NBI Cybercrime Division (NBI-CCD) in Paranaque City during an entrapment operation in Paranaque City.
“Later, after the arrest, may dumating na lima inaarbor ‘yung dalawa (there were five persons who arrived and asked the agents to release the two),” Santiago said.
Found in inside the car of the five arrested persons were three handguns and a smoke grenade which have no licenses and papers, Santiago said.
“Sun Jie and Lee Ching Ho were charged with violations of Section 3(s) of RA (Republic Act) No. 11449 (Access Devices Regulation Act) and Article 212 of the Revised Penal Code (Corruption of Public Officials), while Jenny Pan, Zhao Zheng, Dong Jianhua, Yuan Bien and Shao Wen Hu were charged with violations of Article 212 of the Revised Penal Code and RA No. 10591 (Comprehensive Firearm and Ammunition Act),” the NBI said.
It said an operation was conducted against Sun Jie and Lee Ching Ho after receiving numerous complaints concerning vishing, smishing, phishing, click-baiting, pretexting, whaling, and other schemes that resulted in the unauthorized or illegal access of credit cards.
It also said the transnational organized crime (OTC) group has been “cashing out money through socially engineered credit card credentials drawn from their victims’ accounts, mostly offshore accounts.”
“In need of a Point-of-Sale (POS) device to expedite the cashing out, the TOC group would then give their accomplices 20 percent of the amount upon conversion of the same into cash,” it noted.
With the information, the NBI said “poseur-accomplices pretended to possess the needed POS device and showed willingness to conspire.”
It said that NBI undercover agents were able to meet the two Chinese that resulted in the initial arrest.