The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has arrested a man who reportedly gained access to the Shell Fleet Hub account of Gardenia Bakeries Philippines and "was able to withdraw" P14.47 million worth of petroleum products.
In a statement, the NBI identified the suspect as Gurdeepo Parmar who was arrested at his residence in Buting, Pasig City during an operation conducted by operatives of the NBI-Counter Intelligence Division (NBI-CID) and NBI-Cybercrime Division (NBI-CCD) last June 20.
NBI operatives who were serving a Warrant to Search, Seize, and Examine Computer Data (WSSECD) seized from Parmar several electronic devices, three identification cards that appeared "spurious," and drug paraphernalia that were tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine.
After his arrest, Parmar was presented for inquest before the Pasig City Prosecutor’s Office for violations of Sections 12 and 15 of Republic Act (RA) No. 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002; and falsification by a private individual and use of falsified documents under Article 172 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC).
The NBI said the operation was conducted after Gardenia filed a complaint for economic sabotage, illegal access and computer-related fraud against certain individuals.
Based on Gardenia's complaint, the NBI said “unscrupulous individuals were able to access without authority their Shell Fleet Hub Account and created new users which resulted in illegal acquisition of diesel and gasoline products on different Shell Gasoline Stations amounting to P14,475,556.26.”
“Review of the submitted IP logs indicated the confirmation of compromise as the report contained accesses that were made to the account other than their official IP. This illegal access led to malicious creation of several Shell Fleet Hub accounts under unauthorized names,” the NBI said.
“Collected pieces of evidence, and statement from witnesses identified that the target personalities are Mr. Gudeep alias Gary and other occupants of #22 Ausmolo Compound, Ilaya St., Buting, Pasig City,” it added.