Interpol tapped to expose group behind online scam

The police have linked up with the Bureau of Immigration and the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) as they continue to unravel what authorities described as a “large-scale” online scam operated by a group of foreigners.

Chief Supt. Edward Carranza, the newly installed regional director of the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) police, is expected to present on Wednesday 13 Nigerians and a Filipino woman who were arrested in a police operation at Imus City in Cavite province.

Also expected to be presented at the press briefing are two Filipino victims, one of them led law enforcers into the group’s hideouts.

Police said Emmanuel Nnandi, a Nigerian and the group’s leader, was arrested in an entrapment operation at a money transfer outlet at Barangay Tanzang Luma 2 on Sunday night.

Supt. Audi Madrideo, Imus police chief, said the foreigners and the Filipino suspect had undergone inquest proceedings on Tuesday for syndicated estafa.

“We have coordinated with the Interpol because the victims were not only Filipinos but also individuals of different nationalities. They (suspects) may face possible deportation, depending on what more we are about to find out,” Madrideo said in a telephone interview on Tuesday.

Stolen photos, profiles

Madrideo said the Nigerians, most of them in their late 20s to early 30s, entered the country using student visas.

He said the suspects, on Facebook, posed as members of the US military by using stolen pictures and profiles.

“They would woo their victims by chat. Once hooked, they would promise to send them gifts or money, some as much as $2.5 million,” Madrideo said.

The catch, however, was that in order for them to send the package, the victims had to wire money first to pay for shipping or customs fees.

“According to one witness, they have been in my area (Imus) for eight months already. But we learned that they also faced similar complaints in Las Piñas and Pasay City [in Metro Manila] before they moved to Cavite,” Madrideo said.

Fake soldiers

Police, he said, uncovered records of transactions showing that the group duped people into paying as much as P100,000 to P1 million.

The latest victim, an overseas Filipino worker based in Saudi Arabia, was supposed to wire P10,000 had her brother not grown suspicious and sought police help. Other victims were from Hong Kong and Thailand, police said.

“The suspects posed as US Army men and even sent pictures [showing them supposedly] fighting in Kabul (Afghanistan). In some cases, the suspects would make calls posing as diplomatic personnel to allay suspicions [of their victims],” Madrideo said.