Suspected cybersex den in Naga raided; 34 held

NAGA CITY, Philippines – Police raided a suspected cybersex den near a school here and rounded up 34 people, including five women, early Thursday.

Senior Superintendent Elmo Francis Sarona, head of the Philippine National Police’s anticybercrime group based in the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame, said the manager of the den was among those arrested.

Sarona said policemen seized 73 computers from the office of Digital Minds, an online firm that sells perfume, at GIP Building corner P. Burgos and Hernandez Streets, in front of the University of Nueva Caceres campus here.

Sarona said police raided the suspected cybersex den to enforce a search warrant.

The 34 people rounded up during the raid will be charged with violating the Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998, which makes it unlawful to operate cybersex dens.

One former employee, a woman who refused to be identified, said workers at Digital Minds were made to sell perfume on the Internet using fictitious names. Workers were made to open Facebook accounts but using images of foreign porn stars.

She said workers would try to convince customers to buy perfume through lengthy online chats that would end only after customers gave out information about their credit cards.

The chats, she said, would often lead to sexual topics. Workers are paid commission.

Lawyer Leila Mendoza, counsel of the owner, identified as Mark Laraca, was mum about the case when interviewed by reporters as she left the Digital Mind office Thursday.