Iacat raids Pasay Pogo hub, rescues 731 trafficking victims

Agents of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (Iacat) raided a six-story building housing a Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) in Pasay City on Oct. 27, rescuing 731 suspected victims of human trafficking, mostly Chinese and Filipinos¹. The building, at the corner of F.B. Harrison and Williams Streets, was closed on Nov. 1, five days after the raid¹. It stood about two blocks, or some 500 meters, from Pasay City Hall and the Pasay police station¹.

The raid was the first law enforcement operation directed at an internet gaming licensee, according to Gilbert Cruz, executive director of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, one of the Iacat member agencies¹. It was carried out on a search warrant issued by Judge Maricris Pahate-Felix of Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 35¹. The building sat in a compound belonging to Xushen Technology Corp. and Freego Computer Gaming OPC., whose Pogo licenses had already been revoked by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor); the two companies had obtained a temporary internet gaming license under Smart Web Technology Corp., an entity registered with Pasay City's business permit office¹.

Inside, authorities found what they described as a "torture chamber," based on objects including heavy-duty tasers, airsoft guns, baseball bats, a wooden club and several handcuffs attached to a metal bar¹. Seven Filipino women were found in a viewing room known colloquially as an "aquarium" on the second floor; the victims said they were recruited through Facebook as "encoders" but were forced to become sex workers¹. Two male Chinese workers said they were kept in the building against their will and showed torture marks. One said he was kidnapped by a group from another Pogo in May and was "sold" for P500,000; the other said he had been held inside for more than a year and made to work 15 hours a day¹. Police said the victims were made to work not just in a sex trafficking operation but also in a cyberscam that lures potential victims into investing in cryptocurrency¹.

The chief of the Pasay City police and 26 other officers were relieved of their posts¹. Col. Jean Fajardo, spokesperson for the Philippine National Police, said Pasay police chief Police Col. Froilan Uy and Substation 1 commander Police Capt. Criz Antonio Cataluña were being investigated for possible neglect of duty¹. Police Col. Mario Mayanes was designated officer in charge of the Pasay police, while Police Maj. Christel Carlo Villanueva was named Cataluña's replacement¹.

What it means for players

The raid targeted an internet gaming licensee, not a retail casino or a consumer betting site, so it does not change what ordinary gamblers in the Philippines can legally play. What it does show is that offshore gaming hubs operating under Philippine licenses have been linked by authorities to trafficking, forced labor and cryptocurrency investment fraud¹. For anyone in the Philippines weighing an online operator, the case is a reminder that a license or registration is not by itself evidence that the business behind a site is legitimate. The Philippines' ban on offshore gaming (POGOs) and the wider pattern of crackdowns on offshore online gambling hubs in Asia set out how regulators have treated these operations. Background on gambling scams and safety in Asia covers fake sites, rigged games and scam compounds, and gambling laws in Asia and whether you can gamble in the Philippines cover the legal position in each jurisdiction.

What happens next

The investigation into Uy, Cataluña and the other relieved officers will examine command responsibility and the failure of other policemen to detect criminal activity in the building, Fajardo said¹. She said the PNP has a one-strike policy for erring commanders¹. No further steps, charges or court dates have been reported¹.