453 ARRESTED IN ALLEGED POGO FACILITY IN PARAÑAQUE

JOINT operatives on Thursday arrested 453 illegal POGO employees, including 146 foreigners and five alleged Chinese bosses, in a raid in an office building in Bay Area in Parañaque City.

Members of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Bureau of Immigration (BI), and the Department of Justice Office of Cybercrime (DOJ OOC) implemented an arrest warrant against a Chinese national for fraud.

An Immigration Mission Order was also issued as the subject is an employee of the suspected POGO that has been under surveillance for the past months.

Arrested during the raid were 453 employees including 146 foreigners, mostly Chinese.

The arrested people were caught in front of their computers on the three floors of the building believed to be operating illegal offshore gaming and scamming activities.

PAOCC spokesperson Director Winston Casio said  the group, who allegedly admitted they came from ASEANA but transferred in Parañaque, has been operating for the past two years and never ceased operation.

Initial review of computer screens and interviews with Filipino employees revealed the different scams employed in the alleged POGO scam hub.

Authorities discovered that each floor in the raided facility hosted different scam operations.

Scripts for scamming were also found in workstations.

The arrested individuals will undergo profiling and biometric procedures with the BI while verification of their immigration status is ongoing.

The Filipinos found in the place will be held for questioning and investigation.

Meanwhile, PAOCC chief Gilberto Cruz said also arrested were around five Chinese bosses.

Philippine online gaming operators or POGOs were ordered banned by President Ferdinand Marcos last year after they were found  to be used as cover by organized crime groups for human trafficking, money laundering, online fraud, kidnappings and even murder.

“This raid proves that the previous POGO workers are still trying to continue their scamming activities despite the ban,” Cruz said.