Two suspected foreign spies and three of their alleged Filipino cohorts were arrested by law enforcers last Feb. 20.
“They were arrested through the joint efforts of Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the National Bureau of Investigation,” said NBI Director Jaime B. Santiago said during a press conference on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
Following their arrest, Santiago said those arrested were presented for inquest before the Department of Justice (DOJ) for violations Republic Act (RA) 10175, the Cybercrime Prevention Act, and for espionage under Commonwealth Act No. 616.
The NBI identified the two Chinese as Ni Qinhui and Zheng Wei who were apprehended at Ni Qinhui’s condominium unit in Malate, Manila.
The three Filipinos were arrested during interdiction operations in Bulacan and Metro Manila. They were identified by NBI as Omar Khan Kashim Joveres, Leo Laraya Panti, and Mark Angelo Boholst Binza.
When arrested last Feb. 20, Santiago said they were caught in possession of information communications technology (ICT) equipment including international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) catchers.
As to the IMSI catchers, Santiago said “mere possession of these is already illegal.”
He explained that IMSI catchers mimic cellular towers and can “track location, intercept meta data. and exploit network vulnerabilities.”
“Umiikot sila sa mga installations natin, camps, government installations, at pagnadikit sila sa lugar na ‘yun mahihigop nila kung ano man ang information, text message, cellphone numbers within the area (They roam around our installations, camps, government installations, and, once they are in an area, they can retrieve whatever information including text messages, cellphone numbers within the area),” Santiago said.
“At pwede sila magbato ng message sa ‘yo kahit hindi mo sya ka-text (they can send text messages even if you are not sending text messages to them),” he added.
In a statement, the NBI said the operations were conducted after the NBI received information from the ISAFP last Feb. 14 about suspicious vehicles that are believed utilizing IMSI catchers and have been frequenting military and police camps, essential systems, facilities, and national government assets within Metro Manila.
“CCD (Cybercrime Division) and STF (Special Task Force) Agents validated the information and identified actionable intelligence via network monitoring, interference detection, and signal analysis tools,” the bureau said.
“Systems were employed to locate and analyze rogue or unlicensed BTS (base transceiver station), unauthorized transmissions, and interference sources which yielded positive results,” it also said.
It explained that a rogue BTS is “an unauthorized or malicious base station that impersonates a legitimate cellular tower to intercept, manipulate, or disrupt mobile network communications, and is often used for unauthorized surveillance, eavesdropping, data theft, and network disruption.”
It said the the three Filipinos were hired by Ni Qinhui.
“They further alleged that they were instructed to drive through key areas, including Villamor Airbase, Camp Aguinaldo, Malacañang, Camp Crame, and the U.S. Embassy, among others, for a fee of P2,500 to P3,000 daily," it also said.