Philippines hands over 417 fraud suspects to China

The Philippines handed over a total of 417 suspects involved in cross-border telecom and online fraud to China in recent months, thanks to joint law enforcement efforts between the two countries, the Ministry of Public Security said on Friday.

The ministry said in a statement that it dispatched police officers from Jiangsu province and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to the Philippines for joint investigations after discovering information related to cross-border online fraud in March.

Under the collaborative work of the two countries' police, more than 1,000 suspects were detained in the Clark Free Port Zone in Pampanga province, as well as in Manila and Pasay cities. Many mobile phones and computers were also seized, the ministry said.

From June to July, Philippines police transferred 306 Chinese suspects to their Jiangsu counterparts, while 111 other suspects were handed over to Guangxi police from September to October, it said. Investigation of the suspects is still underway, the ministry added.

The ministry pledged to continue its fight against telecom and online fraud, with greater efforts directed to international crackdowns to effectively protect people's assets.