5 charged with online human trafficking

MANILA, Philippines - Five persons were charged with human trafficking in connection with the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 yesterday for allegedly running a cybersex den under the guise of a call center.

Nads Fajardo, Lester Layco, Alvin Santos, Marlon Gelsamo and Ryan Soto were said to be supervisors of International Contact Center Solution Inc., which has offices in Quezon City, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said.

The NBI said the call center’s employees were hired as “chatters” to offer online pornography services to foreigners at a rate of $6 every three minutes.

Aside from the five supervisors, the NBI also detained 119 employees, including three minors. They were later released, with some volunteering to be witnesses, after the inquest proceedings yesterday.