13 Chinese fugitives arrested from POGO raid in Pasay

Thirteen of the Chinese citizens who were arrested during a recent raid in an alleged Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) scam hub in Pasay City were found to be fugitives from China.

According to Raffy Tima’s report in “24 Oras” on Monday, the Chinese Embassy confirmed that the foreigners are guilty of crimes in their homeland after the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) submitted their names.

“Ganiyan ang ginawa ng Chinese Embassy, kinuhaan nila ng biometric and then naglabasan na yung mga totoong pangalan nitong mga ‘to, and then yung criminal activities nila lumabas na rin doon,” said PAOCC executive director Gilbert Cruz.

(The Chinese Embassy got their biometrics and their real names appeared, and then their criminal activities also showed up.)

The Chinese citizens are wanted for cryptocurrency and investment scam and using a prohibited messaging app to conduct their illegal business.

But the PAOCC is worried as these foreigners were still able to enter the country despite the ban on POGOs.

“Especially those with red notice or may blue notice or wanted ng Interpol, automatic pagpasok dito niyan nagre-red alert na agad eh. Since wala silang dokumento nung pumasok dito, malamang puwedeng nag-back door sila or they used other means to get in our country,” said Cruz.

(Especially those with red notice, blue notice, or wanted by the Interpol, there should be a red alert when they arrive here. Since they don’t have documents when they entered here, they could have used the back door or other means to get in to our country.)

The PAOCC is already coordinating with the Bureau of Immigration for the backtrack investigation.

Further, the PAOCC discovered that some of the foreign workers who were able to escape from the POGO raids in Bamban, Tarlac and in Porac, Pampanga have moved to small-scale POGO operations in Pasay.

Hence, the PAOCC will prioritize the deportation of these foreigners. — Vince Angelo Ferreras/BAP, GMA Integrated News