200 phones found in POGO vaults

CEBU CITY — The National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) seized more than 200 mobile phones, SIM cards, chargers and Indonesian passports in the forcible opening of three safes on Thursday.

The safes were seized on August 31, 2024 in a raid on an alleged illegal Philippine Offshore Gambling Operations Center (POGO) in Barangay Agus, Lapu-Lapu City.

NBI-7 operatives, acting on a search warrant, used grinders and iron tools to break open the durable safes at their headquarters in Cebu City.

In the first vault they discovered eight keys labeled with numbers.

The second safe contained around 200 mobile phones, mostly iPhones, while the third contained three Indonesian passports and various receipts.

NBI-7 Director Renan Oliva said these items will serve as crucial evidence in the qualified human trafficking case against 17 people arrested in the August 31 raid.

The suspects include a Filipino, 13 Chinese, two Indonesians and a Burmese (Myanmar) citizen.

Oliva said all recovered items were an integral part of the case. He explained that NBI-7 plans to ask the court to allow it to examine the data on the seized phones, which could shed light on the suspected POGO hub’s illegal operations.

The office suspects the phones were used for money laundering, illegal gambling and other fraudulent activities, including investment and romance scams.

In addition to examining the devices, NBI-7 is working with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

The DILG is investigating possible involvement of the local government in the illegal POGO activities, while the BIR is investigating possible tax violations.

During the raid, authorities also seized over P8 million in cash that will be presented as evidence in an anti-money laundering case against the suspects. Documents from the hotel where the suspected POGO hub is located are being reviewed for further clues that could reveal more about those involved in the illegal operation.

Oliva confirmed that the 17 suspects accused of qualified human trafficking are scheduled to be arraigned on October 3rd. The NBI has assured that security guards will be in place to transport the foreign nationals to Cebu for the hearing and protect witnesses during the trial.

The August 31 raid at the Tourist Garden Hotel in Barangay Agus was launched following a tip from the Indonesian Embassy, ​​which reported that Indonesian workers were being held against their will.

The POGO center, which houses 162 foreign nationals, allegedly ran illegal online scams that forced workers to surrender their passports to their employers.