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Two Malaysian nationals were arrested by operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation-Central Visayas Regional Office (NBI-CEVRO) in a Cebu City hotel after staff members reported of suspected terrorists because of the kind of gadgets the foreigners mounted in the hotel room.
NBI-CEVRO personnel along with the National Telecommunications Commission and the Department of Information and Communications Technology found on Friday, August 8, 2025, that the two suspects were operating an illegal transceiver, or suspected sniffing device (International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) catcher which collects from the air Internet data of 5G network.
“On August 8, 2025, at about five in the afternoon, the said cyber warrant was served by a composite team of NBI agents led by Supervising Agent Francis Señora together with officers from CICC, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and the National Telecommunications Commission against a hotel located in Cebu City which temporarily secured the area where the devices were originally found,” a statement of NBI-CEVRO read.
“Immediately the scene was preserved and processed accordingly. During the seizure Engr. Royden Rusiana, Regional Cybersecurity head of DICT 7 and Cybercrime Investigator Edwin Velasco, Jr. from CICC emphasized that the laptops, raspberry pis, antennas, and other modular setups in the premises are cellular and data sniffers. They highlighted that the strength of the modules and antenna present can draw off data up to the 5G network. These findings were concurred with by Atty. Allan Felix Macaraya of NTC,” NBI-CEVRO added.
Further, NBI-CEVRO said that the equipment will be subjected to an in-depth forensic examination to bolster the pieces of evidence already gathered.
Moreover, NBI-CEVRO said that the arrest of the Malaysian nationals “connotes the modus of scammers to shift their area of operation from building offices and residential homes to hotels and resorts.”
NBI-CEVRO is set to file charges against the suspects for violation of Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
In an official statement, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) said that the arrest was carried out following the execution of affidavits in support of a Cyber Warrant to Search, Seize, and Examine Computer Data (WSSECD) pursuant to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
The suspects are in the custody of the Bureau of Immigration for appropriate legal proceedings, CICC said.
“Upon inspection, the hotel room contained numerous electronic devices, including laptops, RF (radio frequency) modules, routers, motherboards, and a suspected International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) capture device,” CICC added.
CICC, in close coordination with the Bureau of Immigration-Fugitive Search Unit, National Bureau of Investigation-Central Visayas Regional Office, Naval Intelligence and Security Group-Central, and the management of the target hotel in Cebu City conducted the joint enforcement operation on July 28, 2025.
(via Lloyd Suarez/GMA Super Radyo Cebu with NBI-CEVRO and CICC)
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