166 Foreign Workers Rescued After Raid on Pasay City Fraud Operation
Philippine police rescued 166 foreign nationals from an online fraud operation in Pasay City on November 3, 2026, after three workers escaped and alerted authorities. International job seekers and victims across Southeast Asia were targeted by the syndicate, which forced trafficked workers to execute extortion schemes under threats of bogus criminal charges.
Extortion ring used fake police uniforms and parcel threats to target four nations
Officers from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group raided the facility at KE Tower Building C on Cuneta Avenue after three Indonesian nationals escaped and reported being forced to work for an online fraud ring. The operation freed 138 Indonesians, 16 Vietnamese, 10 Chinese, and two Malaysians who had entered the country on tourist visas without valid work permits after being lured through false virtual assistant job listings on Telegram and Instagram.
Inside the facility, workers were forced to contact targets in Indonesia, Vietnam, China, and Malaysia, claiming that incoming parcels contained illicit drugs. Scammers impersonated police officers using Indonesian and Vietnamese police uniforms, official photos, and banners to threaten victims with frozen bank accounts and asset seizures, before a co-conspirator offered to settle the fictitious cases for payment. Philippine National Police chief General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. ordered investigators to identify the syndicate’s financial network, recruiters, and local accomplices as criminal charges are prepared.
This operation follows a series of interceptions and raids by Philippine authorities targeting cross-border human trafficking networks and deceptive online employment recruitment rings across the region.
