CAMP BRIG. GEN. OSCAR M FLORENDO – Joint operatives of the Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit (RACU) 1, RACU 4A, Basista Municipal Police Station, and Pangasinan Provincial Police arrested a woman caught in the act of getting money she received from an alleged extortion.
Brig. Gen. Emmanuel B. Peralta, Police Regional Office 1 Regional Director, said on Thursday Feb. 24, that a certain Mena Marvie Trinidad, 29, an online seller, was nabbed through an entrapment operation in Brgy. Cabeldatan, Basista, Pangasinan on Feb 22.
A report from PRO1 revealed that the entrapment operation was conducted after the victim , a member of the LGBT community and a teacher, filed a complaint with RACU 4 based in Rizal province against the suspect whom he met on Facebook under the name of James Jimson.
They exchanged messages and on one occasion had a video chat in which the victim was asked to show his private parts.
Later, the victim was threatened by the suspect that his nude video will be uploaded on social media.
The suspect extorted 5,000 from the victim in exchange for not posting on social media the alleged nude video. But the nude video was sent to some of the victim's co-teachers, Police Major Juanito Buaron, Chief Operation Section , RACU1 told Manila Bulletin.
Buaron said they are still trying to determine if Mena Marvie Trinidad and James Jimson are the same person.
Confiscated from Trinidad were a cellphone, three P1,000 bills, one money remittance receipt, and a PhilHealth ID bearing her personal details and signature.
Trinidad is facing charges of robbery with extortion and grave coercion under Section 6 of RA 10175 otherwise known as the Anti-cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
Buaron encouraged the public to file a complaint against the suspect if they were also victimized.