162 foreign nationals rescued from illegal POGO hub in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines – Law enforcement agencies rescued 162 foreign nationals from an illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub in the property of the Tourist Garden Hotel in Barangay Agus, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, on Saturday, August 31.

Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) spokesperson Winston Casio told reporters that initial reports of the POGO hub stemmed from a request from the Indonesian embassy.

“There were three Indonesian nationals who escaped here July 21, then they sought the assistance of the embassy and the embassy informed us,” Casio said.

Officials from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), and the Department of Justice (DOJ), among others worked on the rescue of the Indonesians and executed the operation at around 6 am on Saturday.

“We were just here to rescue the Indonesian nationals. Kaya lang, pagdating namin dito, in flagrante delicto — caught in the act — nakita namin merong mga scam farm dito (However, when we got here, in flagrante delicto — caught in the act — we found scam farms here),” Casio said.

The property is composed of 10 multi-story buildings that house karaoke rooms, restaurant, swimming pool, hotel rooms, dormitory, bar, healthcare facility, and conference venues.

During the operation, officials rescued six of the eight Indonesians that the Indonesian embassy requested to extract from the hub. 

According to the PAOCC, there were 162 foreign nationals found working on three different scam work areas: 83 Chinese, 70 Indonesian, 2 Taiwanese, 6 Burmese, and 1 Malaysian. Five Filipinos engaged in scamming activities were also found.  

“All foreign nationals will be brought to Manila to face inquest proceedings for violation of immigration laws,” a statement from POACC sent to reporters read.

Authorities seized computers, mobile phones, and other electronic devices used for “love scams” and cryptocurrency scams. Casio said that they found enough evidence to file complaints for facilitating cybercrime-related gambling and qualified trafficking. 

Based on initial interviews conducted by authorities, the POGO hub has five administrators that came all the way from Pampanga — mostly individuals who escaped raids conducted there.

This is the first time that an illegal POGO hub raid was conducted in Cebu after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a nationwide ban during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22. 

Casio said that they have received reports about other POGO hubs in Cebu, which will be the subject of investigations in the coming days.  

Authorities were still in the process of conducting an inventory of the property in preparation for an application of a warrant to search and examine computer data. – Rappler.com