758 foreign workers processed after Philippines raid

The workers were rescued during a raid on an offshore gaming operator in Las Piñas City.

The Philippines.- Authorities have reported that 758 foreign workers have been processed following the June 27 raid on Xinchuang Network Technology in Las Piñas City. The raid led to the rescue of 2,714 people. While 1,534 were identified as Filipinos, the remainder consisted of foreign workers from different parts of Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Seven foreign nationals with outstanding warrants: four from China and three from Taiwan, were identified and are awaiting turnover to the Bureau of Immigration.

Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson colonel Jean Fajardo stated: “758 foreign workers have been processed. The biometrics processing and interviews are ongoing. We thank the representatives of the embassies for their assistance so that the extraction of information on their foreign nationals would be faster.”

In a separate statement, PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. said that from Tuesday to Wednesday, 320 personnel from various units of the PNP, including the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG), Regional Mobile Force Battalion (RMFB), Regional Headquarters (RHQ), Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT-7), Regional Maritime Unit (RMDU), Human Rights Affairs Office (HRAO), Legal Service (LS), Las Piñas City Police Station (CPS), Intelligence Group (IG), and Women and Children Protection Center (WCPC), were working on the investigation.

The investigation has led to the opening of 63 out of 139 items seized, with the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) managing the inventory and representatives from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) witnessing the procedure.

The PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG) has reported a decrease in POGO-related kidnapping cases for the first semester of 2023. There were no reported incidents, compared to 14 cases in the same period last year. 

See also: Filipino senators urge president to ban online gambling