Acting on information from the Australian Federal Police, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) conducted an operation in Bislig, Surigao del Sur where they arrested an Australian national involved in human trafficking, and rescued six minors.
The agency’s Human Trafficking Division (HTRAD) said the Australian national was communicating with a Filipina via Facebook and was paying her in exchange for facilitating the live online sexual exploitation of her children, as well as her minor nephews and nieces.
Agents conducted surveillance in a remote barrio in Bislig and confirmed the suspect violated Section 4(r) of Republic Act No. 11930, otherwise known as the “Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children” (OSAEC) and “Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) Act.”
Armed with a Warrant to Search, Seize, and Examine Computer Data (WSSECD), operatives from NBI-HTRAD and NBI-CARAGA, in coordination with the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) of Bislig City and the Cyber-TIP Operations Division (CTIPOD), which operates under the Department of Justice’s National Coordination Center Against Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children and Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (NCC-OSAEC-CSAEM), carried out the operation on April 30, 2026.
On-site forensic examination of seized devices by agents yielded digital evidence, including chat logs, CSAEM, and financial records, leading to the immediate arrest of the suspect and the rescue of six minor victims.
NBI Director Melvin Matibag commended the operating teams and repeated the agency’s commitment to fight human trafficking by continuously conducting similar operations in the future.