COPS have busted a sextortion “warehouse” in the country linked to a blackmail plot that led to a Scots teen’s death.
An Interpol chief told the crimefighters’ general assembly in Glasgow how 250 people were put to work in the “scam farm” in the Philippines.
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The swoop came 11 years after we told how cyber crooks in the capital Manila threatened to expose the Skype texts of Daniel Perry, 17, of Dunfermline — who then took his own life.
Richard Chambers, Interpol’s director of organised and emerging crimes, said it was “100 per cent” certain that Scots could be targeted by the romance cons.
He added: “They don’t care where you live. If you engage with them online then you are a target.”
The industrial-scale hub was raided last month as part of Interpol’s Operation Liberterra II global blitz on human trafficking and people smuggling.
Images show the workers — all Chinese nationals — sitting with heads in hands as they wait to be grilled by officers.
Mr Chambers said: “To see 250 people in a warehouse going flat out behind computers, you can understand why it’s the problem that it is.
“We’re hearing more and more about the victimisation of people through that sort of behaviour.”
Cops in Manila said in 2014 they were holding three suspects over Daniel’s tragic death a year earlier.
Murray Dowey, 16, of Dunblane, Perthshire, died by suicide last year after being threatened by a fraudster who’d posed online as a girl.
Mr Chambers hailed the results of the worldwide crackdown on human trafficking and people smuggling gangs.
Interpol’s Operation Liberterra II led to 2,517 arrests plus the identification of 3,222 potential trafficking victims and 17,793 irregular migrants.
He said of the week-long effort that ended last month: “I was blown away by the results. Exploitation is a growing business.”
Threat to kids alert
THE boss of the UK’s National Crime Agency says the threat posed to kids by online criminals has never been greater.
Graeme Biggar urged parents to arm themselves with knowledge to keep children safe.
He said: “It’s important to have conversations about how to act online and what to look out for.
“The Scottish Government and schools have put out excellent material and we have resources on our website that are really age appropriate.”
