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Thursday, March 28, 2024

2 aliens arrested for estafa

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The National Bureau of Investigation on Thursday said operatives of the NBI-National Capital Region arrested on Monday two foreign nationals in Makati City, for syndicated estafa and illegal possession and use of false treasury/bank notes.

NBI Director Dante Gierran identified the suspects as Leon Chambers and Victor Benjamin Miendje, both citizens of Cameroon, South Africa.

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by a Jordanian national, Thamer Alradaideh, on Dec. 27, 2017, regarding the alleged scam committed or being committed by certain foreign nationals against him.

According to the complaint, other foreign nationals who are part of their group, namely: Suspects Martin Ndang, Ngwa Dako Brown, Mary Joseph, and an alias Clinton, have fraudulently obtained money from the complainant by persuading him that piles of banknote-sized paper in a safety box were actually currency notes that have been dyed to avoid detection by authorities.

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The victim, on separate occasions, has already given the group a total of P1.2 million allegedly used in buying chemicals for the cleaning up of said US dollars. The complainant added, that he had been persuaded to pay fees and purchase chemicals to remove the dye with a promise of a share in the proceeds. Two days prior to the filing of a complaint, the complainant and his friend, Shyra Michaela Brian Capistrano contacted a member of the group, Martin Ndang, who attempted to beguile Shyra thru the same modus operandi.

On Jan. 11, 2018, a meeting between Shyra and suspect Ndang for a demonstration did not push through due to the absence of Shyra’s husband as the group did not want to transact with a Filipina.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas was notified the next day about the group led by Subject Martin Ndang that is engaged in a scheme “Black Dollar Scam” defrauding foreigners in the Philippines. On Jan. 18, 2018, the transaction pushed through because Shyra was with a foreigner who pretended to be her husband.

Suspects Leon Chambers and Victor Benjamin Miendje demonstrated to them how the black dye are being washed off by the chemicals from the US dollars rendering it back to its normal stage. The group of Martin Ndang then asked for more money for buying the alleged chemicals to which Shyra and her foreigner “husband” agreed to give in the next transaction.

Under strict orders from Gierran, operatives of the NCR led by NCR Director Cesar Bacani in coordination with the Currency Integrity Staff-Currency issue and Integrity Office of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (CIO-CIIO, BSP) hatched an entrapment operation that led to the arrest of the suspects Leon Chambers and Victor Banjamin Miendje in Makati City and the seizure of counterfeit US dollars and other paraphernalia.

Initial examination of CIO-CIIO, BSP Agent Arminda Superales indicated that the US dollar banknotes seized from the suspects were all found to be counterfeit.

Charges for syndicated estafa under PD no. 1689 and for violation of Article 168 of the Revised Penal Code (Illegal possession and use of false treasury or banknotes) were filed before the Department of Justice. Other co-conspirators, namely: Martin Ndang, Ngwa Dako Brown, Mary Joseph and Alias Clinto were also included in the complaint-referral to the Prosecutor’s Office. 

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