24 minors rescued from extremist group True Crime Community

MANILA, Philippines— Authorities have rescued 24 minors, who identified themselves as members of so-called True Crime Community (TCC).

But what is this group?

According to Police Col. Richmond Tadina, deputy director for administration of the Philippine National Police’s Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG), the TCC is an online community of young people, who share extremist beliefs.

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“They have one interest, which is violent extremist content, which they share, post, and comment on,” he told the Senate committee on women inquiring into the June 22 shooting at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City.

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Tadina said the ACG has identified “No lives matter,” “The Com” and 764 networks as subcultures of  the TCC.

The group 764 was linked by committee head, Sen. Risa Hontiveros, to the two suspects in the Tacloban shooting, both minor students aged 14 and 15.

“So under  po sila ng True Crime Community. And common is mayroong coercion, self-harm, exploitation of minors and violence,” Tadina said.

(So they are under the True Crime Community. What they have in common is the presence of coercion, self-harm, the exploitation of minors, and violence.)

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Reports from various sources, including the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have led to the rescue of the 24 minors since October last year.

According to Tadina,  these groups target children who are interested in online gaming.

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“They join a group where they start out simply playing games,” he pointed out.

Then, these so-called “groomers” would  later identify a child who is lonely and engage them in a friendly conversation.

Tadina then mentioned a resource person’s remark during the same hearing that the 14-year-old  suspect identified as alias Nash used to be a lively kid until he hit puberty and became a loner and introvert.

“Based on algorithms, groomers identify potential victims who spend long periods using their mobile phones,” he said.

Once the groomers have gained the child’s trust,  they migrate to other social platforms such as Discord, Telegram, and Instagram and talk there privately through end-to-end encrypted messaging.

“Once the groomer has gained the child’s or potential victim’s trust, they start showing violent videos and they would tell the child that, because of their family problems or difficult circumstances, they can relate to what they are going through, and then gradually they gain the trust of the child.”

He further explained that since nihilistic violent extremism promotes chaos or violence, a child recruited by the TCC may eventually engage in violent acts.

“So a person who is a loner can be more easily convinced by groomers,” he ACG official added.

The ACG also found out that all the 24 rescued minors were exposed to gaming app Gorebox, the same game that police said one of the two Tacloban school shooters had played.

Tadina likewise shared that five of the minors have resorted to self- harm by cutting themselves.

“We were able to prevent the 24 minors from carrying out acts of violence. It is sad to note, however, that we were not able to prevent the recent shooting.” /gsg

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