NBI raids Pateros cyberporn den operating near police station

The National Bureau of Investigation rescued a teenage girl and arrested four people as it raided a cyberporn den in Barangay

Sta. Ana in the municipality of Pateros Friday morning.

“She was rescued as she was about to disrobe before a laptop webcam for an agent who posed as a foreign client,’’ said Eric Nuqui, head of the NBI’s Anti-Human Trafficking Division (Ahtrad).

Nuqui said the raid was launched based on a tip provided by NBI-Ahtrad’s counterparts abroad as part of the global fight against human trafficking.

Government agents had been monitoring the website run by the cyberporn ring leader, Victor Amarillo, since last year but the operation was hampered by his repeated change of address, the official added.

They finally cornered Amarillo at a two-story house in Pateros, which is near the residence of a barangay (village) councilor and just about 50 meters away from the municipal police station.

“Nobody has filed a complaint but it’s common knowledge here who are the people engaged in cybersex operations because of the change in their lifestyle. They suddenly appear to have a lot of money,” Emily Valencia, a desk officer at the Sta. Ana barangay hall, told the Inquirer. “We learned about the illegal activities because the operators quarreled among themselves over the collection of payment.”

“We are glad that finally they were arrested. It should serve as a warning to others,” Valencia said.

Amarillo, 28, admitted under NBI custody that his cyberporn operation had been going on for the past two years. He claimed, however, that he never had to recruit girls for his videos “because they approached me and volunteered.”

For every $50 (around P2,200) he got as payment per customer, the performer got P300 as her share, he said.