Thirteen members of the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) Special Task Force (STF) have been relieved of their posts and reassigned to other offices following an “irregular raid” on a suspected online scam hub in Malolos City, Bulacan, on July 14.
NBI Director Jaime B. Santiago said the STF agents were removed from their positions to prevent any potential tampering with the evidence seized during the operation.
The relief and investigation of the 13 STF members, including its chief, stemmed from the complaint filed by the Chinese embassy in Manila and the lawyer of those arrested.
Santiago did not identify the members of the STF.
In a radio interview, Santiago said that after conducting surveillance, STF members applied for a search warrant. Although intended for Malolos City, the location identified for serving the warrant was Sta. Rita.
Thus, he said, the Malolos City court, which issued the search warrant, has no jurisdiction because the place to be searched is in Sta. Rita town in Pampanga and not in Malolos City.
He explained that because of the defective warrant, the case against those arrested can be dismissed and the evidence seized cannot be used as evidence.
During the raid, the agents seized various equipment and arrested persons suspected to be operating the hub. The passports of those arrested were confiscated.
Later, the STF reported that the arrested foreigners were undocumented.
At the same time, the minors who were present in the raided establishment were not taken into custody. Instead, Santiago said a woman was assigned to take care of the minors.
The complaints against the 13 STF members have been endorsed by Santiago to the bureau’s Internal Affairs Division for investigation.
Santiago recalled the STF was created by the Department of Justice (DOJ) long before he took over as director as a special unit directly under the NBI director and tasked to immediately act on the directives issued by the DOJ and Malacanang.
He said that STF was not dissolved. At the moment, he is scouting for new agents to compose the STF.
He also said the legal counsel of the arrested Chinese nationals wrote a letter and complained about the raid.
Lawyer Hanz Darryl D. Tiu will meet with Santiago on Thursday, August 7 to discuss the complaint. (Jeffrey Damicog)
