21 Filipinos, South Koreans fall in Pasay POGO raid

National

SIX South Koreans and 15 Filipinos were arrested when an illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub situated in a hotel in Pasay City was raied on Monday afternoon, February 17.

The raid was a joint operation by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), Bureau of Immigration (BI), and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

The POGO hub was discovered in the Heritage Hotel at the corners of Roxas Boulevard and the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA).

PAOCC executive director Gilbert Cruz said informants tipped them off that a group of South Koreans were operating an online gaming hub with fellow nationals as clients.

“The foreigners were also allegedly involved in game fixing and online scamming,” Cruz said in a Philippine Star report.

The foreigners and Filipino employees in the hub were also reportedly engaging in sports betting and cryptocurrency.

Cruz added that some Filipinos confessed that they previously worked for four POGOs that were halted due to the ban imposed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. through the Executive Order No. 74 in November last year.

According to BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado, the raid was conducted after they received reports from the PAOCC regarding the suspected illegal activities of the foreigners.

“This successful operation reflects our unwavering commitment to cracking down on illegal foreign operations in the country, especially those engaged in illicit online gambling,” Viado said in a statement.

The South Korean suspects are being held at the PAOCC facility in Pasay and will face deportation and blacklisting from the country.

Authorities will continue to investigate the hotel management to determine why the POGO hub was able to operate in the establishment.(Johanna Sumalinog, USJ-R Intern)