Pasay Scam Hub Raid: CIDG Finds Fake Indonesian and Vietnamese Police Station Behind a Parcel Scam

Philippine police raided a scam hub in Pasay City on 3 November and rescued 159 foreign nationals who, investigators say, posed as police officers to frighten people abroad into handing over their savings. The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) told The Philippine Star it was "not a Philippine offshore gaming operator or POGO" but a parcel fraud aimed at people in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. Two Malaysians and a Chinese national, described as its masterminds, were arrested; the site had run for about three months.

Uniforms, props and a fake police station

One of the video-call rooms was made to resemble a police station, complete with uniforms, handcuffs and other props. The Daily Tribune lists Indonesian and Vietnamese police uniforms, along with photographs and tarpaulins of police officials from both countries. Radio network RMN places the hub on the 15th floor of a building on Cuneta Avenue, which the Tribune names as KE Tower Building C.

Drugs in the parcel, then a «safe» account

Callers used databases of people expecting parcels. A fake officer said the package held suspected illegal drugs or contraband; a second caller, posing as a senior officer, told the victim to move money into a "designated bank account" to protect it. RMN says police also found lists of senior citizens and business owners marked as targets.

Recruited as virtual assistants

The raid followed the escape of three people who were allegedly forced to work there, who went to the Indonesian embassy. Police say staff were recruited through Telegram and Instagram ads for virtual assistant jobs and had entered the Philippines as tourists. Of the 159, the Tribune counts 128 Indonesians.

An earlier Tribune report put the total at 166, and police haven't published a final figure.

Charges and the local links

The three suspects face complaints for human trafficking and serious illegal detention, and the Star reports the rescued workers will be referred to the Bureau of Immigration, working with their embassies. PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. has ordered the CIDG "to identify individuals and groups" in the Philippines who supported the syndicate.