Philippine police rescue over 1,000 workers from online casino site
It’s been described as the largest anti-trafficking operation in the Philippines to date.
The Philippines.- Law enforcement agencies have rescued over 1,000 people who were allegedly trafficked into the Philippines to work at an online casino in Manila. Chinese, Vietnamese, Singaporean, Malaysian, Indonesian, Pakistani, Cameroonian, Sudanese and Burmese nationals were discovered during a series of coordinated raids in the capital.
Some 2,700 people were detained during the operations. Over 1,500 of them were Filipinos. Officers are conducting interviews to determine the status of each detainee and distinguish between victims and potential suspects.
According to police captain Michelle Sabino, a spokesperson for the anti-cybercrime unit, the alleged trafficking victims responded to job advertisements on Facebook for employment in the Philippines as recruiters for online gaming. However, they were trapped in a compound and subjected to 12-hour work shifts for wages as low as PHP24,000 (US$433) per month. The victims are believed to have faced severe restrictions on their movement and personal freedom.
Sabino described the operation as the largest against trafficking in the Philippines to date. In May, authorities found more than 1,000 alleged human trafficking victims at the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR)-licenced Sun Valley Clark hub, which PAGCOR has since shut down.
Interpol, the global policing organisation, issued a warning about an escalating global trafficking crisis, highlighting cases in countries such as Cambodia, Singapore, Myanmar and the Philippines.
2,591 arrests for illegal gambling in Western Visayas
Police in the Philippines’ Western Visayas region have reported making 2,591 arrests for alleged illegal gambling in the first half of this year. Acting director Police Brig. Gen. Sidney Villaflor said the arrests were a result of 814 anti-gambling operations conducted from January 1 to June 25, following the directive of Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr.
During the operations, approximately PHP600,000 in suspected betting money was seized. Villaflor stressed the implementation of the strict one-strike policy for police chiefs responsible for curbing illegal gambling, warning that any failure would result in the immediate removal of officers. He commended residents for providing information to the police.
