The National Bureau of Investigation-Cavite North District Office (CAVIDO North), led by NBI Director Jaime Santiago, arrested two individuals for illegal recruitment and estafa.

The case stemmed from complaints filed by seven individuals against the suspects. One complainant stated that he received a call from an alleged recruitment agent claiming to be from CPL Masters Recruitment Inc., offering skilled workers positions in Austria with a promised monthly salary of P100,000.

Tempted by the offer, the complainant applied for a mason position and paid a total of P166,600 for medical exams, processing fees, a working visa, travel insurance, a placement fee, and plane tickets. However, he was later informed that the employer in Austria refused to issue a work permit, and instead, he would be deployed to Croatia as a factory assistant.

The complainant, along with other victims, was housed in Cavite by the recruiters, who took their passports under the pretense of processing visas and Overseas Employment Certificates (OECs). After waiting for over a year with no progress, they sought help from the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), only to discover that the recruiters were neither licensed nor authorized to recruit for overseas jobs.

Following an entrapment operation on 27 February 2025, NBI agents successfully arrested the suspects. One of them admitted to having been previously prosecuted and arrested for large-scale illegal recruitment in Batangas and Marinduque.

The suspects now face charges for violating Section 5 of R.A. 8042, as amended by R.A. 10022 or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995, and estafa under Article 315, Paragraph 2(a) of the Revised Penal Code.