CIDG Urges Love Scam Recruits to Testify

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY – The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group–Bacolod is urging individuals hired to work in an alleged love scam operation to come forward and testify against two arrested Malaysian nationals.

Police Maj. Justin Noel Josol, CIDG–Bacolod chief, said that during the course of their investigation, at least 100 people were recruited by the suspects as workers or models to allegedly deceive foreign clients.

He said it is important for these individuals to appear as they will serve as witnesses to the suspects’ illegal activities.

He added that their cooperation is needed to strengthen the case.

However, Josol noted that tracking the workers has been difficult since some were employed in a work-from-home setup.

“It’s even more difficult to identify them, making this complex,” he said.

Authorities rescued only seven individuals when they raided the suspects’ rented houses in Barangay Singcang-Airport on March 27.

Laptops and other computer equipment were recovered from another house in Barangay Handumanan.

The suspects, a 60-year-old man and his relative, were charged with qualified trafficking before the City Prosecutor’s Office on March 28, according to Josol.

He said the suspects will also face charges from the Bureau of Immigration for overstaying with expired visas.

Josol said the older suspect has been living in the country for more than 10 years, while his relative has been here for more than a year.

He explained that the suspects allegedly lured individuals with call center jobs or model photoshoots.

They were eventually forced to take part in a scheme that scammed foreign clients on a dating site using pornographic images of the recruited models.

Josol said the suspects had been operating in the city for more than a year.

However, they only received a tip recently from a complainant who claimed to have experienced forced labor.

He said they are still investigating how organized and well-trained the suspects are and whether they are part of a larger syndicate.

He described the arrests as a breakthrough in the fight against human trafficking.