Operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) have rescued 54 women and arrested several suspects during an entrapment operation at a nightclub and hotel in Pasig City.

In a statement Friday, April 24, the NBI said the raid targeted a suspected human trafficking network operating out of Chicago Nightclub and Bleu Hotel that was allegedly later traced to the wife and son of former Anakalusugan Partylist Representative Mike Defensor.

“Corporate records obtained in the course of the investigation indicate that the registered owners of the establishment are the wife and son of former Congressman Mike Defensor,” the NBI said.

“The NBI emphasizes that this information is part of the ongoing investigation and does not, by itself, establish criminal liability. All persons concerned are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law,” it added.

Accordingly, the NBI Special Task Group (NBI-STG) launched the operation last April 21 after receiving intelligence information regarding the “alleged recruitment and exploitation of women for sexual services” at the said establishment.

The NBI said that surveillance confirmed a “systematic scheme of sexual exploitation.” It said investigators discovered that customers were initially entertained inside the Chicago Nightclub and women were presented to clients through a “line-up” system.

“Once a customer made a selection, the parties were then brought to rooms at Bleu Hotel, where the sexual services were allegedly consummated,” the bureau detailed.

According to NBI, evidence suggested that transactions ranged from P5,000 to P15,000 per encounter. These payments were allegedly distributed among facilitators, managers, and other individuals involved in the scheme.

The operation was conducted in coordination with the Department of Justice – Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (DOJ-IACAT), and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The rescued victims were under the care of social welfare authorities for "proper care, protection, and assistance."

Aside from the rescued women, the NBI said its agents also seized marked money, suspected illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia, and various documents linked to the unlawful activities.

The NBI said it has filed criminal complaints for alleged violations of Republic Act 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act against Defensor’s wife and son on Thursday, April 23, before the Pasig City Prosecutor’s Office.

Meanwhile, those arrested during the raid including managers, officers, facilitators, and customers were also facing charges for violations of the Anti-Trafficking Persons Act and Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

However, Defensor’s wife, Julie, firmly denied the allegations linking her family and businesses to the NBI raid, calling such claims “baseless” and “malicious.”

“Let me be absolutely clear regarding the recent NBI operation: we have absolutely no connection to the targeted establishment or its operations,” she said. “Any attempt to link our family to the abhorrent acts allegedly committed there is a deliberate, dangerous, and desperate lie.”

She claimed the allegations were part of an “orchestrated smear campaign” and a “fabricated pretext designed to artificially manufacture a case.”

“Because of these political attacks, approximately 1,000 hardworking employees across various companies have abruptly lost their jobs,” she said, calling it “unconscionable that innocent workers are being sacrificed as pawns in someone else's political vendetta.”

She challenged NBI Director Melvin Matibag to address any "political or personal" issues directly with her husband instead of involving their family. She said that her family will pursue legal action over the claims.

“We will not be bullied, silenced, or intimidated by these cowardly tactics,” she said. “We will exercise the full extent of the law to clear our names, expose this harassment, and hold those responsible accountable.”

To recall, the Defensor patriarch made headlines in recent months when he admitted in February that he helped a group of 18 men, including former Marines, who claimed to have delivered billions of pesos in flood control kickbacks to former lawmaker Zaldy Co, by providing a vehicle to transport them so they could stage a press conference and reveal the expose.