The arrested suspects allegedly also engaged in “sextortion.” —RICHARD A. REYES
At least 30 people were arrested by the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) in a raid on an alleged cybersex den on Wednesday.
Members of the QCPD’s special operations unit and the newly formed anticybercrime team served a search warrant on an apartment in Pablo Compound, Commonwealth Avenue, Barangay Old Balara, around 9:56 p.m.
The warrant was issued by Judge Arthur Malabaguio of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 93 against Allan Ren Fajardo Sulit for violation of the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
Sulit was not at the apartment when the police rounded up the other suspects, aged 18 to 32 years old, who were caught selling pornographic materials online.
The QCPD said the arrested persons served as facilitators of a porn site with private chatrooms and “live shows.” The operations reportedly employed up to 90 people.
Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, QCPD director, noted that the place was “disguised” as a call center and did not have a business permit.
The QCPD said the operation involved chat room operators who enticed clients into signing up on adult websites. Payments, often in hundreds of dollars, were made via credit card per viewing.
Some viewers were allegedly tricked into speaking with a nude performer, usually a young girl, without knowing they are being recorded. The suspects then threatened to expose them if they don’t cough up cash.