Boracay arrests tip of the iceberg

SOME of the 25 Taiwanese nationals who were arrested on Boracay Island believed to be involved in illegal drugs and cybercrime JAN ALLEN ASCANO/CONTRIBUTOR

ILOILO CITY—A deadly mix of cybercrime and drugs is at the core of the operations of what could be a syndicate of foreigners whose existence surfaced in the resort island of Boracay following arrests made by police.

Senior Insp. Jess Baylon, chief of the Boracay Tourist Assistance Center, said police are in search for more foreigners believed to be involved in illegal drugs and cybercrime following the arrests of 18 Taiwanese and seven Chinese nationals on Monday.

Baylon said he believed that those arrested are part of a bigger crime group as indicated by documents obtained by police.

“We found passports of persons aside from those we arrested so more of them could be on the island (Boracay) or [elsewhere] in the country,” Baylon told the Inquirer on Monday.

Lawyer Maria Antonette Mangrobang, spokesperson of the Bureau of Immigration (BI), said BI agents recovered passports of 16 Chinese and three Taiwanese, aside from those arrested.

At least 20 policemen from different units arrested the foreigners, seven of them women, at a two-story house in Sitio Bulabog in Barangay Balabag.

Authorities first arrested Lin Szu, a Taiwanese, after he sold a sachet of suspected “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride) to an undercover narc.

Policemen, who ran after Szu, subsequently discovered several telephones, computers, routers, modems and other electronic gadgets at the house being rented by the foreigners.

The gadgets were installed at the ground floor of the two-story house.

Unidentified recruiter

Policemen also found substances believed to be cocaine and shabu. Pills, serums and syringes were also found on the second floor.

The items were brought for testing at the crime laboratory at the Western Visayas police headquarters in Iloilo City.

Also recovered from the house are lists of telephone numbers and bank account numbers believed to be those of the syndicate’s targets in its cybercrime operations in China and other countries.

Speaking through an interpreter, the foreigners told investigators that they were recruited to work for an online gaming company.

They could not identify their recruiter, according to Baylon.

The foreigners, who all have tourist visas, entered the Philippines on different dates that started on May 2, according to Mangrobang.

Yesterday, the BI said charges had been filed against the foreigners.

Those charged were identified as Taiwanese nationals Lin Szu Wei, Hsiao Chun-Huang, Zeng Shao-Wei, Chang Chih-Chih, Fan Yu-Lung, Chen Jhih-Hong, Chou Yuan-Syun, Wu Pei-Yu, Weng Wei-Chieh, Yang Shuang-Chuan, Wu Shau-Wei, Lien Yu-Ting, Sun Chia-Hui, Wang Yung-Chun, Jhou Tian-You, Hong Gou-Siou, Chou Hsi-Ao, and Lo Li-Yin.

The Chinese nationals were identified as Zhou HognHua, Zeng Hui, Han FengShuang, He Zonglong, Zhong Yuling, Wang Juan and Gong Chun.

Under surveillance

Investigators said they believed the group is involved in the distribution of illegal drugs and fraudulent online banking transactions with fellow Taiwanese and Chinese nationals as victims.

Baylon said the house, where the foreigners were arrested, had been under surveillance after operatives monitored boxes of gadgets being brought inside.

The foreigners, who presented themselves as tourists, also roused suspicions because they rarely went out.

A Taiwanese couple rented the house for P120,000 a month but they were not present when police made the arrests, Baylon said.

Police are keeping the foreigners in the house pending the filing of drug charges against them. With report from Tina Santos in Manila