Twenty women, two of them minors, have been rescued by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) from an alleged sex den in Paranaque City.
The rescue also resulted in the arrest of a Chinese national and his wife who reportedly manage the sex trafficking operations.
NBI Officer-In Charge Director Eric B. Distor identified those arrested as Xiangce Kong and his wife Ma. Angelica Kong.
Distor said the couple were arrested at their house during an operation conducted by the NBI’s Rizal District Office (NBI-RIZDO) last May 5.
In a statement, the NBI said the operation was conducted based on “an intelligence report that a group of unidentified individuals are engaged in prostitution and human trafficking activities, particularly sexual exploitation of minor victims.”
“According to the report, booking of women for sexual services is done through messaging in private group chats intended solely for Chinese customers,” the NBI said.
“In addition, the said group operates in NCR (National Capital Region) plus bubble area for easier transporting of women, as they are reportedly housed in an exclusive village in Paranaque City,” it said.
It said that one of the women rescued was at a hotel in Pasay City after agents posing as customers secured a booking from the suspects.
After confirming the whereabouts of the other women, another team of the NBI-RIZDO stormed the house in Paranaque City, it added.
At the same time, the NBI said that two of those rescued tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) after undergoing rapid antigen tests.
“All occupants of the accommodation house including the arrested subjects were recommended to be placed under quarantine pending the results of their RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) tests,” it said.