115 Chinese nationals deported in POGO crackdown

The Bureau of Immigration deported 115 Chinese nationals arrested during separate operations against suspected illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) in Zamboanga Sibugay and Quezon City, the Daily Tribune reported. They were flown back to China on Friday, November 6, aboard chartered China Southern Airlines flight CZ5308 from Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3¹.

The deportees included 62 Chinese nationals apprehended in Zamboanga Sibugay and 53 others arrested in Cubao, Quezon City¹. The deportation followed the issuance of summary deportation orders by the BI Board of Commissioners¹. A Chinese-language report by Epoch Times gave the same flight number, airport terminal and date, and said all 115 had been issued summary deportation orders².

The two operations took place in October. Epoch Times dated the Zamboanga Sibugay operation to October 2 and the Cubao, Quezon City operation to October 12². The Daily Tribune reported that the raids led to the arrest of 244 foreigners in Zamboanga Sibugay and 76 others at a suspected POGO-linked facility in Cubao¹. Epoch Times said the Cubao raid arrested 74 Chinese nationals and two Myanmar nationals, meaning the November 6 flight carried only part of those arrested in the two operations². It also said the immigration bureau had described the Zamboanga Sibugay operation as the country's largest POGO sweep this year, with more than 200 gaming workers arrested on site².

Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said the operation reflected the bureau's continuing crackdown on illegal POGO activities and other crimes involving foreign nationals, and vowed to strengthen coordination with local and international law enforcement agencies to combat illegal offshore gaming operations, online scams and transnational crime¹.

Epoch Times also reported that the immigration bureau arrested the second-in-command of a Japanese crime group called "JP Dragon" in Cabanatuan City on November 2. The group is suspected of fraud in Japan involving about 900 million yen². It said President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. banned all POGO operations in the country in 2024, citing the industry's frequent involvement in financial fraud, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, torture and murder².

What it means for players

The Philippines has banned POGO operations since 2024, so the venues targeted in these raids were already outside the law². The enforcement activity described here concerns foreign workers at suspected illegal offshore gaming and scam operations, not licensed land-based casinos or other regulated gambling in the Philippines. For locals, expats and visitors, the practical effect is a continued immigration and police focus on unlicensed online operations and the people who staff them. Anyone working at, or recruited to work at, an unlicensed offshore gaming or scam facility in the Philippines faces arrest and deportation under the process described. The reports do not describe any change to the rules for regulated gambling, and no new measures affecting ordinary customers at licensed venues have been reported.

What happens next

The Daily Tribune reported that Viado vowed to strengthen coordination with local and international law enforcement agencies against illegal offshore gaming operations, online scams and transnational crime¹. Epoch Times reported that authorities have widened the investigation to trace the financiers, recruiters and local facilitators behind the illegal scam networks². No further deportation flights or dates have been reported.

For background on the sector, see POGOs in the Philippines and Gambling in the Philippines. Related consumer safety material is at Gambling Scams in Asia, and the rules for Chinese nationals are covered in Gambling in China.