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EJ Macababbad - The Philippine Star
May 18, 2025 | 12:00am
A raided POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga on June 24, 2024.
STAR / Jesse Bustos
MANILA, Philippines — Ten Chinese nationals who formerly worked for a large Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) were arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Bataan for engaging in scamming activities.
Operatives from the NBI’s Criminal Intelligence Division found the suspects at a house in Mariveles equipped with computers allegedly used for cryptocurrency and love scams.
Authorities recovered over P600,000 in cash, assorted jewelry and suspected methamphetamine.
The suspects were members of a splinter group of the POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga which was raided in June 2024.
“When the POGO hubs were dismantled, many of their workers escaped and they eventually formed different splinter groups,” Noel Bocaling, NBI’s assistant director for intelligence services, told reporters on Friday.
The suspects will face charges for violating the Cybercrime Prevention Act and the Anti-Financial Account and Scamming Act.
The Porac POGO hub allegedly facilitated crimes of torture, kidnapping and sex trafficking, which became the basis for a Pampanga court to issue an arrest warrant against former presidential spokesman Harry Roque, businesswoman Cassandra Li Ong and 48 others.
