Chinese nabbed in Porac allegedly fled from Bamban POGO raid

On the third day of a raid on an illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) facility in Pampanga's Porac town, authorities arrested a  Chinese national said to be a fugitive from the Bambam Pogo raid and suspected of being involved in torture.

Identified by the Presidential Anti-Organized  Crime Commission (PAOCC) as Wu Lifeng, the suspect was reported to have been nabbed while picking mangoes from a tree outside the Porac POGO compound.

“Galing siya kung saan saan —  connected siya sa Bambam, connected siya sa Fontana, sa mga iligal na  mga POGO diyan sa Fontana… Kriminal po talaga ‘yan. Sindikato po ‘yan.  Lahat naman po nandiyan sindikato,” PAOCC spokesperson Winston John  Casio said in a report on GMA’s “24 Oras Weekend” on Sunday.

(He comes from several places — he is connected to Bamban, to the illegal POGOs in Fontana. He is a criminal, a syndicate member. Everyone there is in a syndicate.)

The suspect is said to be one of the individuals who were able to escape during the raids conducted in the  POGO hub in Bamban, Tarlac, where some 167 Chinese were arrested last month.

He is now in the custody of the PAOCC and considered the 160th arrested suspect in Porac, after authorities found photos of corpses and a photo of PAOCC undersecretary Gilbert Cruz in his mobile phone.

Over the weekend authorities also found three large sachets containing some  30 grams of suspected methamphetamine or shabu, along with blood stains on the floor, blankets, and clothes in a nearby room.

They also found materials said to be used for torture including a baseball bat and electric rods used to electrocute people.

“Mukhang isa rin itong lugar kung saan sinasaktan ‘yung kanilang mga tao. (It  looks like this is also an area where they hurt their people.) This will be part of the evidence that will be filed against the owners of this establishment,” said Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and  Detection Group (CIDG) Deputy Director Police Col. David Poklay.

Authorities earlier on Sunday also found a suspected scam hub, where hundreds of computers and mobile phones were found.

For its part, the Department of Justice (DOJ) tasked the National  Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Bureau of Investigation (BI) to look into the matter and deport individuals found to have violated  Philippine immigration laws.

“Secretary (Jesus Crispin) Remulla urged the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to be on top of the case, file charges if warranted, and immediately deport those proven to have violated immigration laws,” the DOJ said in a statement.

GMA Integrated News reached out to Porac, Pampanga Mayor Jaime Capil for comment on the matter, but Capil and his representatives had yet to respond as of posting time. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/DVM, GMA Integrated News