QUEZON CITY — In a decisive operation last week, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested seven individuals, including a foreign national, for their alleged involvement in a human trafficking scheme that exploited Filipino minors and women from other nationalities for sexual services.
According to NBI Director Jaime Santiago during a press briefing on Monday, the individuals arrested include Moises Bognot, Jermaine Villanueva, Glenn Paolo Solijon, Darwin Tagalog, Lance Clifford Ungriano, Nighjer Teriote, and Chinese national Zhang Wenyou. The arrests were executed by the NBI's CyberCrime Division (CCD) on June 27 in a condominium in Quezon City, following a tip from La Familia Rescue, a non-profit organization that reported the illicit activities.
During the operation, the NBI was able to rescue seven Filipino minors, aged between 13 and 17, along with three Russian nationals and one from Kazakhstan. Jeremy Lotoc, Chief of the NBI Cybercrime Division, suggested that the suspects might be part of a larger, organized crime group with international links, possibly managed by Chinese and Russian nationals and based out of Dubai.
"The group is based in Dubai and headed by a Chinese national," Lotoc noted, indicating the transnational scope of the criminal activities. The rescued individuals were reportedly trafficked with the Filipino minors being offered for PHP5,000 each, while the Russian and Kazakhstani nationals were trafficked for PHP45,000 each.
Further investigation revealed that the foreign nationals were brought into the Philippines on tourist visas. The suspects are now facing charges under the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012 in conjunction with the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.