INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Updated on June 5, 2024 at 3:42 p.m.
MANILA, Philippines—Authorities raided a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (Pogo) hub in Pampanga and arrested 158 foreigners and 29 Filipinos on Tuesday, according to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).
In a report on Wednesday, PAOCC said its personnel, along with joint operatives of the Philippine National Police units, apprehended 187 individuals inside the Pogo complex along Friendship Highway, Angeles City.
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Of the 158 foreigners, 126 were Chinese, 23 were Vietnamese, four were Malaysians, four were Burmese, and one was Korean.
“They are currently being held for questioning over alleged scam operations in Angeles City, Pampanga,” the commission said.
PAOCC’s report further disclosed that its operation stemmed from a warrant issued by the Presiding Judge Maria Belinda Rama of Malolos Regional Trial Court, Branch 14, against officers and employees of Lucky South 99, which the commission said is “the biggest facility in Pampanga with a reported total number of 46 buildings including villas and other structures, as well as a golf course.”
The warrant, on the other hand, was issued following a report PAOCC received from confidential informants detailing how a female foreigner was sexually trafficked in the area while male foreigners were tortured.
Before the arrest of 187 individuals, PAOCC said some workers had already started fleeing the compound.
To prevent others from escaping, “monitoring teams posted outside the compound started to create choke points and roadblocks to all known exit points of the Lucky South facility and conducted a welfare check, to identify and rescue possible labor trafficked victims,” it added.
“All foreign nationals are now undergoing immigration biometrics,” the commission said.