PASAY CITY – Authorities arrested 401 foreign workers linked to an illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) scam hub during a raid on a 10-story building near Macapagal Boulevard on Wednesday.
🚔 Raid Led By:
✅ Pasay City Government
✅ PNP-CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group)
✅ DOJ Office of Cybercrime (DOJ-OOC)
✅ Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC)
Who Were Arrested?
- 🇨🇳 207 Chinese nationals
- 🇻🇳 132 Vietnamese nationals
- 🇰🇷 24 Korean nationals
- 🇲🇾 11 Malaysians
- 🇮🇩 14 Indonesians
- 🇲🇲 12 Myanmar nationals
- 🇲🇬 1 Madagascar national
- 🇵🇭 52 Filipinos
Some suspects attempted to escape via fire exits, air ducts, and comfort rooms, but were caught by authorities.
Illegal Activities Discovered
🔹 Thousands of local SIM cards & text blasters – Used for phishing scams
🔹 Computers with scam-related data – Involved in love scams & investment fraud
🔹 E-wallet transactions targeting Filipinos – Proof that locals were also victims
Immediate Actions Taken
🚨 Pasay City issued a closure order on the building
🚨 PAGCOR vowed stricter monitoring to prevent illegal POGO operations
🚨 Authorities coordinating with the Bureau of Immigration to check suspects’ legal status
Pasay Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano warned rogue POGOs:
“We will not allow these illegal operations. They will face legal consequences and be shut down.”