ANGELES CITY – Fifteen Chinese nationals, including five women from Taiwan, were arrested here at about 4 p.m. Wednesday in a raid of a house being used by a syndicate allegedly engaged in internet fraud and extortion victimizing rich folk both in Taiwan and mainland China.
The raid was conducted by joint operatives from the police based in Metro Manila and this city in a house at Plaridel I in Barangay Malabanias, a tourism district in this city.
A police source who asked not to be named said that some of the arrested suspects, including one who seemed to speak Ilocano, sought to contact by phone a governor in the north and a police chief superintendent based in Camp Crame.
He could not say whether they succeeded.
The source also said that the group’s leader, identified as James Chan Lim, was found to possess a permit to carry firearms issued by Camp Crame, although no firearm was found during the raid. The names of the others were not immediately available.
A police report said the raid yielded several computers, telephone units and other sophisticated electronic gadgets the group allegedly used to pilfer personal information from known rich Chinese in Taiwan and mainland China for purposes of extortion and blackmail. Bank fund transfers were reportedly resorted to for financial deals.
Only a week ago, the National Bureau of Investigation also raided another house in San Fernando, Pampanga, some 15 kilometers south of this city, and also arrested Chinese nationals engaged in similar operations.
The report said that earlier, Taiwanese officials had sought police help after one Ten Jen Li, 20, sought help from them through his Facebook account, revealing the operations of the group which had initially recruited him a telephone operator, the police said.
Li said the group paid for his plane fare and that he arrived in the Philippines last Aug. 6. He was then compelled to also engage in the illegal operations.
At about 10 a.m. Wednesday, Li was able to escape from the house and seek the help of a barangay tanod who, in turn, alerted the police. The raid was held six hours later.
Li identified 14 other Chinese nationals as member of the syndicate, and did not include another who, like him, was also apparently innocently recruited.
The Chinese nationals were held at the city police headquarters as of yesterday morning. Police said the suspects will face charges of human trafficking.
