POLICE rescued nearly 900 alleged victims of human trafficking during a raid on a suspected illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (Pogo) in Bamban, Tarlac.
Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) director Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz stated that the raid was carried out by operatives from PAOCC, the Philippine National Police, and the Northern Luzon Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines following the issuance of two search warrants against Zun Yuan Technology Inc. in Bamban town by the Malolos, Bulacan Regional Trial Court Branch 81.
Rescued during the operation were 371 Filipinos, 432 Chinese, eight Malaysians, 57 Vietnamese nationals, three Taiwanese nationals, two Indonesians, and two Rwandans.
Cruz mentioned that the application for a search warrant originated from a complaint filed by a Vietnamese national who claimed to have escaped from the facility on February 28, and a Malaysian national who sought the agency's assistance, alleging that he was being unlawfully detained within the compound.
“The persons found in the compound are now being interviewed for profiling purposes,” he said.
Firearms of various calibers were also recovered from the Pogo office.
Cruz said they also found “love scam” modus scripts similar to the ones found in previous raids of other Pogos.
He said the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group would apply for a cyber warrant to be able to examine the seized mobile phones. (SunStar Philippines)