Why keep the items?
Lawyers for a call center company asked this question to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7) after it refused to turn over the items they seized in a raid two weeks ago.
Dominador Cafe and lead counsel Democrito Barcenas said they went to the CIDG-7 office to procure the seized items because the agency had yet to file charges against the company 724 Care Inc.
“Kuhaon unta namo ang items nga gipanguha kay wa man gyod silay ebidensya (We want to get the items because they don’t have evidence against the company),” Cafe said.
The call center denied selling Viagra and other branded sexual potency drugs, saying they only conduct online surveys and insurance selling. Cafe said it was business as usual after the raid.
He said the raiding team should have filed the charges a few days after seizing the items in the event they have enough evidence for a case in court.
Nearly 100 employees of 724 Care Inc. were barred from leaving while CIDG-7 agents inspected the premises in AD Gothong IT Center Building in Lopez Jaena Street, barangay Subangdaku.
“Wa may notice nga gi filan akong kliyente of kaso (Our clients didn’t receive any notice to file a case),” Cafe said. He said the charges to be filed should be done in Central Visayas.
The raid headed by Senior Supt. Gilbert Sosa, chief of the CIDG Anti-Transnational and Cyber Crimes Division in Camp Crame resulted in the confiscation of several computer equipment.
Among them were one desktop unit, an LCD monitor, a keyboard, a Plantronics dialer, headset, power cord, and LAN cable.
No software was taken because the office reportedly used “cloud computing” on a remote server which can hide a clear data trail.
CIDG-7 chief Senior Supt. Jose Pante said the evidences were already forwarded in Camp Crame.
He said the local police only assisted the CIDG team. He said the filing of charges against the company will be made their national office./CORRESPONDENT CHITO O. ARAGON