The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Cybercrime Division arrested three Chinese nationals in Parañaque City on charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention.

NBI director Jaime Santiago identified the suspects as Zou Tao, Jin Cai and Junying Lyu.

The case began with a complaint that the suspects were unlawfully detaining a man and forcing him to work. A friend of the victim reported that the suspects had threatened to kill the man if he tried to escape.

NBI-CCD agents, in coordination with the Philippine National Police, the City Prosecutor’s Office, the barangay and the condominium’s security, conducted a rescue operation.

They found the three suspects and the victim in a unit. The victim identified the three as his captors.

The suspects were arrested and informed of their rights. Agents recovered a pair of handcuffs used to restrain the victim.

They also found several computers, though an initial inspection did not reveal any cryptocurrency-related or investment scam activities. The NBI plans to apply for a warrant to examine the computer data.

The suspects were taken to the NBI-CCD office for standard booking procedures.