Authorities arrested 543 illegal POGO employees in a raid in an office building in the Bay Area of Parañaque City on Thursday.
Operatives from the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Bureau of Immigration (BI), Department of Justice Office of Cybercrime (DOJ OOC) and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) enforced an arrest warrant against a Chinese national for fraud.
An Immigration Mission Order was also implemented as the subject is an employee of suspected POGO that has been under surveillance for the past months.
A total of 543 employees including 146 foreigners, mostly Chinese were caught in front of their computers on the 3 floors of the building believed to be operating illegal offshore gaming and scamming activities.
“Dalawang taon na raw silang nag-o-operate and they never stopped. Galing daw sila ng ASEANA. Nung medyo uminit daw doon, lumipat daw sila dito,” PAOCC Spokesperson Director Winston Casio told GMA Integrated News.
Initial review of computer screens and interviews with Filipino employees revealed the different scams employed in the alleged POGO.
“Bawat floor, iba-ibang scam. Sa fifth floor at seventh floor, stock investment scam. Pero ang pinagkaiba dito sa seventh floor, may spamming na nagaganap using a Hong Kong mobile,” DOJ OOC Head Agent Innah Protacio-Ladislao said.
“Sa sixth floor is online betting scam. Particularly, target nila is Indian. Sa sixth floor, Filipino ang employees,” Protacio-Ladislao added.
Scripts for scamming were also found in workstations.
Authorities recovered hundreds of computers, laptops, smartphones, pre-registered SIM cards and other gadgets.
The said items will be examined and will undergo digital forensics.
Based on information gathered, local authorities issued a closure order on the POGO after it was raided before.
It is now operating under a new name with a Mayor’s permit, business license and a barangay permit. These will form part of the investigation.
“Dapat kasi before they issue yung permits nila, yung sa barangay, yung sa city hall, dapat they do yung talagang religious inspection of the establishment,” PAOCC Executive Director Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz said.
“Kung ang permit nila is entertainment, are they really indulging yung kumpanya nila sa entertainment? O baka naman scamming yan tulad ng nangyayari dito?” Cruz added.
The arrested foreigners will be detained at the PAOCC Detention Facility in Pasay.
They will undergo profiling and biometric procedures with the BI while verification of their immigration status is ongoing.
The Filipinos will be held for questioning and investigation. — BAP, GMA Integrated News
