Photo of woman in alleged extortion of Saudi nationals out
Photo of Ms. Arlene/Darlene allegedly involved in extortion on Saudi nationals. This photo was submitted by the Saudi embassy to the DOJ
MANILA, Philippines – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has released the photo of a certain “Arlene” or “Darlene” who allegedly belonged to a group that extorted money from Saudi nationals arrested for human trafficking.
De Lima told reporters that the investigation would zero in on identifying the individuals involved and determining who is “Arlene” and then make proper recommendation on whether to charge them criminally and/or administratively.
The Justice Chief already created a fact-finding committee to investigate the alleged extortion activities in the wake of a letter-complaint from the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi embassy claims that at least four Saudi nationals, namely: Majdi Abdulhamed Yaghmoor, Hassand Alharbi, Farhan Alsolobi, and Ahmad Al Ghaneem, were arrested by NBI agents and later freed after paying these agents sums of money ranging from P20,000 up to P300,000.
“Siyempre it’s a very serious accusation dahil several daw po na mga Saudi Arabia nationals ang nagiging biktima diumano nitong grupo na ito na allegedly under the guise na yung huhulihin sila for alleged human trafficking activities ay yun pala yung pinaka-objective ay i-extort sila, kikilan sila. Kaya nga po, that’s why I had to act on it right away,” De Lima said.
“Nababahiran po yung napakaseryoso nating kampanya against human trafficking eh marami na ho tayong ginagawa dyan, marami na ho tayong operations na ina-undertake para labanan ang human trafficking. Meron nga tayong isang unit sa NBI dedicated for that purpose: the NBI AHTRAD (Anti-Human Trafficking Division), may iba ibang task forces all over the country, then here we are may ganyang alegasyon,” De Lima said.
The committee is chaired by Justice Asst. Secretary Zabedin Azis; NBI Deputy Director Jose Doloiras has been designated committee vice-chairman, with members NBI Acting Regional Director for Luzon Jose Justo Yap, Asst. State Prosecutors Bryan Jacinto Cacha and Alejandro Daguiso, and State Counsel Adonis Sulit.
