Over 800 Pinoys, foreign nationals rescued in Tarlac POGO hub allegedly behind scamming ops

More than 800 Filipinos and foreign nationals were rescued at a large Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) firm in Bamban, Tarlac after it was raided for alleged illegal activities that include crypto and love scams.

Teams from the Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) conducted a joint raid on the 10-hectare compound of Zun Yuan Technology Incorporated on early Wednesday, according to  Jun Veneracion’s 24 Oras report.

“’Yung mismong establishment na ito ay legal, may mga papeles with PAGCOR and sa local government but ang tinitignan natin dito how they operate,” said PAOCC Executive Director Gilbert Cruz.

(The establishment is itself legal. It has papers with PAGCOR and the local government but what we’re looking at is how they operate.)

“Number one, 'yung serious illegal detention na iniimbestigahan natin. ‘Yung human trafficking,” Cruz said.

(We’re investigating allegations of serious illegal detention and human trafficking.)

A search warrant was issued after a Vietnamese national escaped and filed physical injuries and serious illegal detention complaints against the operators of the POGO firm. It was also alleged that foreign nationals were forced to conduct scamming activities and were physically hurt if they failed to reach their daily quota.

“Extensive search is still ongoing. Sa mga buildings. We understand that there is an underground establishment and maybe a tunnel, which we are looking for. Possibly, mayroon din silang torture chamber dito,” said National Inter-agency Task Force Against Trafficking Chairperson Jonathan Lledo.

(An extensive search of the buildings is still ongoing. We understand that there is an underground establishment and maybe a tunnel, which we are looking for. Possibly, there is a also a torture chamber.)

Authorities rescued hundreds of Filipinos, Chinese, Malaysians, Vietnamese and other foreign nationals and arrested several suspects operating the alleged scam hub.

Also seized were several firearms in the premises.

Meanwhile, the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group will file a warrant to intercept and inspect the computers and other gadgets inside the POGO firm.

The Bureau of Immigration, for its part, is checking the immigration papers of the arrested POGO employees.—Sundy Locus/RF, GMA Integrated News