At least 13 foreigners, 6 Filipinos linked to Pogo arrested in Laguna

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

LUCENA CITY — At least 13 foreigners and six Filipinos suspected of having ties with a Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) in Porac, Pampanga were arrested in Biñan City, Laguna on Thursday, Oct. 10, police said.

The Police Region 4A reported Friday that operatives from the Bureau of Immigration and Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) armed with a mission order swooped down on a subdivision in Barangay San Francisco around 8 p.m.

Police said the raid resulted in the arrest of the suspects “believed to be linked in the Pogo operations in Porac.”

The report did not provide the names of the arrested suspects and the nationalities of the foreigners.

Authorities seized three firearms with government licenses, cell phones, computers, documents, identification cards, and an undetermined amount of cash.

Lucky South 99, a Pogo hub in Porac, was raided and shuttered by law enforcers on June 4 on suspicion that it was involved in torture, human trafficking, and scamming activities.

The PAOCC rescued 207 people, including 127 Chinese, 23 Vietnamese, four Malaysians, and three Burmese.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. declared a ban on Pogo operations in the country during his State of the Nation Address in July. INQ