Three men who posed as agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and attempted to extort P100,000 cash from the owner of a food store were arrested by members of the Parañaque police Tambo Substation on Saturday, October 19.

The Southern Police District (SPD) identified the suspects as alias “Bernard,” 44, alias “John,” 29, both businessmen, and alias “Lenon,” 24.

The SPD said the suspects were arrested  around 3:00 a.m. at a food store located in Aseana I Building, E. Cuenco, Barangay Tambo.

The police said the suspects reportedly entered the establishment and presented a fraudulent search warrant alleging that the store was selling illegal tobacco and cigarettes.

The suspects threatened the 19 year-old store cashier and demanded that the store owner pay P100,000 cash to avoid penalties for selling illegal tobacco products.

The police said Aseana security guards were alerted and intervened when they noticed the commotion inside the food store while the suspects were dismantling the store's CCTV camera.

Members of the Tambo police substation who were near the area were called for police assistance and upon verification, the suspects were found to be fake NBI agents.

During investigation , the police said Atty. Joseph Eufemio S. Martinez, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the Deputy Director for Operations Supervising Agent, National Capital Region (NBI-NCR), National Bureau of Investigation, said that the arrested suspects are not member of the agency.

The police also found that the same suspects had previously attempted to extort money from a spa in Parañaque City on September 1, 2024 by posing as NBI agents and threatening the business owner.

The suspects were detained at the police custodial facility after their arrest and were charged for robbery-extortion, usurpation of authority, malicious mischief, grave threat, and falsification of documents.