Philippines arrests 244 foreign nationals in offshore gaming raids
Authorities say some detainees are being investigated for possible trafficking-related offences; others face deportation.
Philippine authorities arrested 244 foreign nationals in raids on two sites in Mindanao targeting illegal offshore gaming operators. The Immigration Bureau reported the arrests late on Saturday, describing the operation as the country’s biggest crackdown this year.
At one site, authorities arrested 110 Chinese citizens, two Cambodians and a Hong Kong resident. The second site yielded 131 foreign nationals, mostly Chinese, alongside citizens of Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar.
Authorities seized computer equipment, mobile phones, laptops and SIM cards. The government is investigating possible human trafficking-related offences involving several detainees; others are to be deported. The number under investigation and any charges have not been specified.
The Philippines banned Philippine offshore gaming operators, or POGOs, in 2024, citing alleged links between some operations and crimes including trafficking, money laundering, kidnapping, fraud and murder. Those claims do not establish that all detainees in the latest raids were involved in such offences.
A 2023 United Nations report estimated that at least 120,000 people in Myanmar and about 100,000 in Cambodia may be trapped in scam operations. The report also described illegal online operations across Southeast Asia.
