Cops nab illegal recruiter in GenSan

KIDAPAWAN CITY – Operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Region 12 (Soccsksargen) arrested a businesswoman believed to be involved in a large-scale illegal recruitment in an entrapment operation in General Santos City, Friday.Superintendent Elmer Guevarra, officer-in-charge of CIDG-12, identified the suspect as Sandra Berenguel, also known as Leslie Malinao, of General Santos City.The arrest came after two of Berenguel’s recruits came to the CIDG 12 office in GenSan to check on the suspect’s alleged criminal records.If CIDG 12 records are used as basis, Guevarra said Berenguel is ‘clean’, as there was no case was filed against her. No pending warrant of arrest, whatsoever, thus, she is clean, said the police.The complainants, however, insisted the suspect was engaged in illegal recruitment. In fact, they were among her victims, the complainants told Guevarra. They said Berenguel, on several occasions, had had asked them cash payments in lieu of ‘high-paying’ jobs in Japan In fact, the money they paid to Berenguel was not enough. The suspect, they said, were asking for more, said Guevarra.This, he said, drove his office to conduct an entrapment operation against the suspect.On Friday, around 3 p.m., Guevarra said the complainants met with Berenguel in one of the restaurants inside a mall in General Santos City while his men were just around the corner.When cash was handed over to the suspect inside the mall, policemen immediately arrested and brought her to the CIDG 12 office where she was placed under their custody.Guevarra said the complainants are bent on filing charges against Berenguel.The CIDG has found out that the suspect was not just doing illegal recruitment in General Santos City but also in areas like Davao City, Davao del Sur, and other parts of Mindanao. We are made to believe her activity is large-scale since she operates in Central Mindanao and Southern Mindanao regions, said the CIDG-12 official.On Monday, Guevarra said, charges of large-scale estafa would be filed against Berenguel.