More than 400 arrested, including 146 foreigners in POGO raid in Parañaque

Authorities arrested 453 illegal POGO employees in a raid in an office building in the Bay Area, 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 the suspected POGO that has been under surveillance for the past months.

A total of 453 employees including 146 foreigners, mostly Chinese, were caught in front of their computers on the three 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.

(They have been operating for the past two years and they never stopped. They said they came from ASEANA. When it got too risky, they transferred here.)

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.

(Each floor hosted different scam operations. On the 5th and 7th floor, [this is for] the stock investment scam. The difference is that on the 7th floor, there was spamming using a Hong Kong mobile. The 6th floor is [for the] online betting scam, particularly targeting Indians. On the 6th floor were Filipino employees.)

Scripts for scamming were also found in workstations.

“Mayroon silang task scam, love scam at yung tinatawag nilang Indian sports betting scam,” added Casio.

(They had task scams, love scams, and what they called the Indian sports betting scam.)

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.

“We’re not talking of millions dito. Billions ang kinikita nitong mga to eh. Kaya sila, willing silang ilaban yung mahuli sila at icontinue pa nila yung operations. Talagang ilalaban nila sa laki ng kinikita. Nakakapagtaka nga na despite niraid na itong kabila, nagooperation parin sila. So ganoon katitigas yung mga mukha nila, ganoon kalalakas ang loob,” Cruz said.

(We’re not talking about millions here. They were earning millions. That’s why they were willing to risk being caught and still continue their operations. They were willing to risk it because of how big their profit was. It’s baffles me how despite the fact that the nearby POGO had already been raided, they were still operating. That’s how stubborn they are, that’s how strong their will was.) — with Jiselle Anne Casucian/BAP/VBL, GMA Integrated News