CLARK FREEPORT ZONE, Pampanga — Bureau of Immigration (BI) Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) operatives dismantled the covert operations of a POGO syndicate operating in a residential building in Pampanga.
The operation supports the administration’s intensified campaign under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to curb illegal POGO activities and protect the country from crimes linked to offshore gaming operations.
BI FSU Chief Rendel Ryan Sy reported the arrest of seven South Korean nationals on October 13 in a posh condominium building inside the Clark Freeport Zone in Angeles, Pampanga. The arrest was carried out in coordination with South Korean authorities, the Philippine Air Force, and the Clark Development Corporation.
Sy reported that they initially targeted a South Korean fugitive who was said to be operating in the area, but during the course of the operation, the subject was nowhere to be found. Instead, the team encountered seven male Koreans who were caught in the act of manning workstations suspected to be connected to online gambling activities.
Authorities reported that the suspects were engaged in small-scale illegal operations using a betting platform linked to various sporting events worldwide.
Initial verification with the BI’s database showed that one of the suspects, identified as Ha Dong Jun, 23, has been wanted by the agency since January 2025 for failing to leave the country after the shutdown of POGO operations.
BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado lauded the arrest and said that the Bureau will continue its sustained and intensified operations against POGO and POGO-like activities involving foreign nationals in the Philippines.
“The directive of the President is clear,” said Viado. “We will not allow foreign nationals to continue online gaming activities in the Philippines. Those who insist on doing so will be arrested and deported,” he warned.
All seven Koreans were transferred to the BI’s facility in Taguig, where they will remain during the course of their deportation proceedings
