‘Leakage’ suspected after many escaped Pogo raid

‘ROGUE’ COMPANY Wednesday’s raid not only tried to dismantle an alleged human trafficking operation but also revealed the vastness of the private property where the questionable online gaming hub had thrived. —Photo by Jun A. Malig

PORAC, PAMPANGA — An official of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) has called for an investigation into an apparent “leakage” of the plan to raid a Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) company here.

On Thursday, a day after the raid, PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio said this leakage may be the reason why a number of Pogo workers and perhaps even company officers were able to escape.

He did not name any specific person or unit, but he said the investigation should cover “all of us”—referring to the composite team of law enforcers and agents who served a search warrant on the sprawling complex housing the Pogo business of Lucky South 99.

“We might request, if they would agree—that all of us, beginning with me—that all of our cellular phones, laptops, and other gadgets be subjected to digital forensic (examination),” Casio said at a press briefing after the raid on Wednesday.

“One of us could be the source of the leak if there was indeed a leak.”

Rushing toward gate

Casio said he had seen video clips showing “hundreds” of Lucky South 99 workers rushing out of their buildings, running toward the gate, and boarding vehicles before the authorities arrived.

He said it appeared as if the workers, mostly foreigners, knew what was coming and that they would be detained and eventually deported once the raid had established their company’s involvement in criminal activities, such as human trafficking and online scams.

READ: Nearly 100 of 402 canceled Pogos still operational, says PAOCC 

PAOCC earlier said 158 foreigners and 29 Filipinos were “rescued” during the raid. The foreigners included 126 Chinese, 23 Vietnamese, four Malaysians, four Myanmar nationals and a Korean.

Casio said a thorough investigation must be conducted to determine if Lucky South 99 had been tipped off about the operation.

READ: 158 foreigners, 29 Filipinos rescued from Pogo hub in Pampanga

The raiding team was composed of personnel from PAOCC, the Department of Justice’s Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, the Military Intelligence Group, and different units of the Philippine National Police, including the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, the Anti-Cybercrime Group, Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group, and the Intelligence Group.

Pinoy ‘encoders’

On Wednesday afternoon, seven more Filipino Pogo workers employed at Lucky South 99 voluntarily stepped out of their building and showed themselves at the gate.

This was after authorities used megaphones to call out to people who had remained inside the compound located within the 100-hectare Royal Garden Estate that straddles the boundary between Porac and Angeles City.

Casio said that during the raid, the seven Filipinos were “detained” inside one of the padlocked buildings and later managed to get out through a window.

“They could not get out. The building was locked and blocked by a big piece of wood. They needed to open the window to get out,” he said.

Quoting the Filipino workers, he said they were recruited by the Pogo company as “encoders” through Facebook and were promised a monthly salary of at least P23,000. They arrived at the compound only five days before the June 6 raid.

Detained since April

Casio also said a rescued Chinese woman had been detained at the Pogo compound since arriving in April.

The Chinese woman landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) about two months ago and was about to proceed to Boracay, but “unfortunately she lost her wallet at Naia and a Chinese man approached her and offered help.’’

“She agreed. But she was brought here and has not been able to leave since April,” he said.

Torture, cybersex videos

Casio said the rescue operation was planned after PAOCC received from informants a number of torture and sex trafficking videos allegedly taken at the Pogo premises.

One of the videos obtained by authorities after the raid showed two male foreigners being beaten up and a woman who was being forced to dance naked while being offered to online clients for sex.

“According to our informant, one of the foreign males has already died. We wanted to find his body inside the compound, but we received information that (he) was already cremated,” Casio said.

He said PAOCC was surprised to learn that Lucky South 99 had been able to resume operations despite being raided and closed down by the PNP and Department of the Interior and Local Government on Sept. 17, 2022.

Still on Pagcor list

Based on a list from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) dated Aug. 8, 2023, Lucky South 99 Outsourcing Inc. was among the 32 Pogo firms licensed to operate in the country.

Casio said he had asked Pagcor about the company’s inclusion and “this afternoon I formally received a certification from Pagcor that Lucky South 99 was no longer allowed to operate.”

He said he couldn’t tell whether Pagcor made a mistake in still including Lucky South 99 on the list, which was supposedly updated almost a year after the 2022 raid.

As of Thursday, the raided Pogo complex remained surrounded and guarded by the PNP Special Action Force, and all vehicles passing through the roads leading to the site were being inspected.