Int’l travelers warned of bullet scam in 2012

LOS ANGELES—International travelers were warned as early as 2012 against what is now called the “tanim-bala” (bullet-planting) extortion scheme at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).

The father of a British woman who was allegedly victimized by the scam posted the warning in a forum on the popular international travel site TripAdvisor on Sept. 17, 2012.

Identified only as “BritPaul” from Northamptonshire, United Kingdom, he said the airport staff claimed to have discovered a bullet casing in his daughter’s bag and asked for $1,000 in exchange for fixing her case by erasing the security X-ray image showing the prohibited item.

“(The staff) ‘found’ a bullet casing and told her there would be an investigation and that she would have to miss her flight,” BritPaul said in his post. “Obviously, she was very frightened and distressed.”

He said that because her daughter only had $100, she was “taken to an ATM and the agent pocketed the money.”