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MANILA, Philippines — Two Taiwanese fugitives were discovered to be among over 2,000 workers rescued from a Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) firm in Las Piñas City recently, the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) said in a statement on Monday,
Earlier, four other fugitives from China were reportedly discovered among the rescued workers, according to Col. Jean Fajardo, PNP spokesperson.
In its statement, the ACG said: “During the June 26 police operation, where thousands of individuals were rescued, four Chinese and two Taiwanese fugitives were discovered. The active participation and cooperation of different foreign embassies, who assisted in documenting their respective nationals and cross-matching their records with the PNP-ACG, led to the identification of the six fugitives.”
ACG revealed that over 1,000 Filipino workers were screened and have returned home. At the same time, more than 1,000 foreigners will be turned over to the Bureau of Immigration for repatriation.
Meanwhile, Fajardo said authorities would hand over the foreign fugitives to the Chinese Embassy for deportation on July 3 or later.
Last June 27, a total of 2,714 Filipino and foreign workers of Xinchuang Network Technology Inc. were rescued by authorities who served warrants to the firm for its alleged violation of the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.
Of this figure, 1,528 were Filipino workers and 1,186 were from 17 other countries.
Apart from the discovered fugitives, five Chinese suspects were subjected to inquest proceedings on June 30 at the Department of Justice in Manila for violating provisions of the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2022 related to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.