An online adult entertainment ring based in Makati City reportedly earning between 100 million up to 200 million pesos a year was busted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Raided was the company Net Ventures International,which according to the NBI, was selling interactive pornographic videos of Filipino women through the Internet.

Net Ventures, was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission back in 1999, the NBI said.

According to the NBI, Net Ventures recruit women from the Visayas region. The NBI said Net Ventures' operation was the "biggest online pornography ring in the country" so far uncovered.

During the raid at one of the company's "studios" inside the San Lorenzo Village, at least eight out of more than 40 women working as "talents" -- including the operation's alleged maintainer and one of the recruiters, Agnes Dapadap -- were arrested by NBI agents.

Authorities are now looking for the alleged owner-financier Chris Cole, an American national, and two other local recruiters identified as "Chito" and "Ricky."

Armed with a search warrant, NBI agents busted the operations of Net Ventures after three months of surveillance, according to a report by Special Agent Albert Gaerlan, the officer handling the case.

Authorities were able to penetrate the syndicate by fielding covert women agents as applicants to the company. Gaerlan said it took the authorities three months to break into the "closely guarded" operations.

During the raid, the authorities were able to catch some of the Filipino women online and entertaining in the nude customers through the Web.

The San Lorenzo "studio" could accommodate 10 cubicles for each entertainer. Each air-conditioned cubicle was equipped with a high-speed computer, a video camera attached to a network, a luxurious bed and enough sexual paraphernalia for exhibition purposes, the NBI said.

During the raid, the authorities were able to seize personal data records of 18 women from Negros who were earlier recruited either as waitresses or data encoders.

Net Ventures was reportedly operating 24 hours a day and has several shifts of women totaling 48 entertainers for the said studio. The NBI said the company operates several websites that charge 2.49 dollars per minute of viewing.

About the Author

Mike Frialde who graduated from the Univesrity of Santo Tomas in 1994 is a journalist for the Philippine Star, the country's second largest circulating newspaper. He started his journalistic career with the Manila Standard in 1995 covering the police beats. He then joined the Philippine Star in 1997 and covered the Philippine National Police and National Bureau of Investigation. He is now covering the Defense beat. You can reach him at [email protected].