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Philippines Arrests 244 Foreign Workers in Online Scam Crackdown
Authorities said the detainees face deportation and possible trafficking probes after raids recovered 78 monitors and about 3,000 mobile phones.
- On Friday, Philippine authorities arrested 244 foreign workers during raids in Mindanao, describing the operation as "the largest POGO bust of 2026" targeting illegal online gaming operators.
- President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. banned all POGOs in 2024 through Executive Order 74, aiming to eliminate organized crime groups linked to human trafficking, money laundering, and fraud.
- Authorities apprehended 113 individuals in Siay and 131 in Alicia, seizing "large quantities" of equipment including 78 computer monitors and around 3,000 mobile phones from the Casa de Coco Pension House.
- Immigration chief Joel Viado stated, "We will continue to enforce our immigration laws," as authorities initiate deportation proceedings and investigate possible human trafficking offenses among those detained.
- Detainees include Chinese nationals, Cambodians, and citizens from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Myanmar, all facing deportation and blacklisting from re-entering the Philippines; the Chinese embassy in Manila has not responded to inquiries.
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Philippines Arrests More Than 200 Foreigners in Anti-Scam Operations on the Internet · Global Voices
The Southeast Asian country banned online gambling operations known as POGOs in 2024, noting that they are used by organized crime groups to cover up human trafficking, money laundering, cyber fraud, kidnappings and murders. Security agencies raided two sites in the southern region of Mindanao on Friday, where 110 Chinese, two Cambodians and one resident of Hong Kong were arrested in one of them. 131 other foreigners were detained in a second si…
·Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
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(Hanoi=Yonhap News) Correspondent Park Jin-hyung = Philippine authorities have uncovered Chinese criminal complexes (fraud workshops) and arrested over 240 Chinese nationals.
·Seoul, Korea (the Republic of)
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources34
Leaning Left6Leaning Right6Center3Last UpdatedBias Distribution40% Left, 40% Right
Bias Distribution
- 40% of the sources lean Left, 40% of the sources lean Right
40% Right
L 40%
C 20%
R 40%
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