Cybersex extortion syndicate busted in Gingoog City

BUTUAN CITY — An alleged cybersex extortion syndicate in the northeastern and northern Mindanao regions was believed busted after the anti-cyber-crime police authorities arrested seven suspects at a cybersex den in Gingoog City, police official reported yesterday.

Gingoog City Police Station (GCPS) city director Senior Supt. Roel Lamiing identified the arrested suspects as Roel S. Ruiz, 29 of Barcelona, Lingig town; Gerald V. Pinol, 26 and Joemarie Viola, 21, both of Barangay Barcelona, also of Lingig town; Gener A. Pacot, 29 of Mangagoy, Bislig City; and Lalyn Aboy B. Ruiz, 22, of Barobo town, all of Surigao del Sur province; Robert D. Higana, 24, Geovani D. Mandin, 21, both of Magallanes, Barangay 24, and Hermenegildo D. Escano, 20 of Barangay Saa, all of Gingoog City.

The GCPS is still determining the leader of the syndicate.

The suspects were arrested in a raid at Door 8, Odette Apartment on Aquino corner Veterans streets in Barangay 13, Gingoog City, late Tuesday afternoon.

The raid was carried out by the elements of GCPS, Provincial Public Safety Company (PPSC) and Police Regional Office 10 (PRO 10) Anti Cyber-Crime Group through a search warrant issued by a local court.

The raiding team seized seven laptops, USB memory stick, modem, router, 12 mobile phones, two pocket wifi, 2 ATM cards, two modem, sim cards, P7,000 cash, remittance receipts that ranged from P13,000 up to P15,000, mostly sent via Western Union and other belongings used in the cybersex extortion activities.

The raiding team also discovered the group’s most recent victim, a Thailander, who sent money equivalent to P7,000.

An initial investigation conducted by the GCPS also showed that the suspects maintained various fake Facebook accounts to deceive wouldbe victims.

The modus of the suspects was to create social media accounts and befriend people especially foreigners. They will later entice their victims to perform lewd and sex activities which they secretly film, the GCPS report said.

The suspects will then blackmail and extort money from their victims by threatening to post the video on the internet if they will not give in to their demands.

The suspects raked in money by extorting from their costumers, mostly foreigners, the GCPS report said.

The GCPS report added that operatives have been monitoring the activities of the group for over two months after information confirmed the group’s alleged illegal activities inside the two-story rented apartment.

The GCPS, PPSC and PRO 10 Anti Cyber-Crime Group are preparing charges against the suspects for violation of Republic Act 10175 or the Anti-Cyber Crime Law.

Senior Supt. Lamiing urged the victims to coordinate with them to strengthen the charges set to be filed against the suspects.