By Henry Empeño | October 23, 2026

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) shut down an alleged online scam operation in this free port on Thursday, October 22, taking into custody more than 200 Vietnamese nationals working on site, as well as equipment used in the operation.

NBI Director Melvin Matibag said the NBI-Pampanga District Office (PAMDO) conducted the raid on the strength of a warrant from the Regional Trial Court Branch 73 in Olongapo City, and after a month of surveillance and intelligence work.

The warrant cited alleged violations of Republic Act No. 12010, or the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act, and Republic Act No. 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

Matibag said evidence recovered by agents indicated the hub operated like a business, with round-the-clock shifts and a dedicated payments desk that processed deposits and withdrawals and funneled funds through a network of bank and e-wallet accounts.

The NBI reportedly found desktop computers, laptops and tablets, mobile phones and routers, card scanners and storage devices, as well as webcams and closed-circuit TV equipment at the facility, and secured passports and digital evidence.

Agents also found staff schedules that showed teams assigned to targets in the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, and Bangladesh, Matibag added.

Subic sources said 232 Vietnamese workers were found working at the operations hub inside UPower Building 2, a three-story building in the Subic Gateway Park here.

Headline Zambales asked the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority for its reaction to the NBI operation, but the Subic agency has not provided any statement as of this writing.

Matibag said the NBI is screening each worker from the site to determine which are victims of human trafficking. Those found to have been recruited through deception or held against their will would be treated as victims under Republic Act No. 9208, as amended, he added.

Matibag said the NBI is coordinating with the Bureau of Immigration (BI), the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), and the Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam regarding welfare, documentation, and repatriation of the Vietnamese workers.

He added that the agency is preparing complaints against those who organized, managed, and financed the operation, and is working with the Anti-Money Laundering Council and financial institutions to identify and freeze the accounts the operation used.

“We will not stop at seizing computers and scripts. We will look into bank accounts, e-wallets, and the people who rent them out,” Matibag vowed. “We are following the money from this facility to every account that held it. Anyone who lends an account to these operations will be held accountable under the law.” ▲

COVER PHOTO: NBI recovered passports at the alleged scam hub in the Subic Bay Freeport where 232 Vietnamese workers were found working. (NBI)