The Philippines deported 180 Chinese nationals on Thursday after they were detained in a raid on a suspected sex-trafficking and online scam operation in the capital Manila, officials said.
Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Filipino nationals were among the nearly 600 people found inside a compound during the operation in October.
Sex toys, a massage parlor, karaoke rooms, and a restaurant were found in the building operated by a business that authorities said was licensed as an internet gaming company.
Several women were “rescued” during the raid, police said.
The Chinese nationals deported did not have work permits and had been “engaging in online scams,” Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission Undersecretary Gilberto Cruz told AFP.
Cruz said more foreigners detained in the raid would be deported in the coming weeks.
International concern has been growing over internet scams in the Asia-Pacific region, often staffed by trafficking victims tricked or coerced into promoting bogus crypto investments.
Philippine Senator Risa Hontiveros previously warned that “scam call centers” were operating in the Philippines and employing foreigners trafficked into the country.
In its 2023 human trafficking report, the US State Department said the Philippines “did not vigorously investigate or prosecute labor trafficking crimes that occurred within” the country.
“Corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained significant concerns,” it said.
The government was spending millions of pesos for the deportation and care of the arrested Chinese workers of the Pasay City-based Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub that was raided months ago, Cruz said Thursday.
“Because we can’t neglect their human rights. So we need to feed them and give them their basic needs. If they are sick, we send them to the hospital. Even for their deportations, we are the ones spending for it,” he said.
Cruz could not give an estimated amount of the expenditure as the deportation process was ongoing. But asked if the amount reaches millions, he said, “Yes.”
Agents from PAOCC and the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) raided the POGO hub in late October where they found an “aquarium” or an area where victims of prostitution — including Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Filipino women — waited to be “selected” by customers. With AFP
Authorities also discovered various torture devices inside a room, including heavy-duty tasers, airsoft guns, baseball bats, and a wooden club. Also seen were several handcuffs attached to a metal bar on a wall.
According to Cruz, the 180 individuals failed to present their working
visas. He said this is also the biggest batch to be deported so far.
“They are blacklisted. They can no longer return to the Philippines.
And they will also be charged in China. The Chinese Embassy is coordinating with us for the cases to be a,” he said.
The individuals were escorted by numerous police officers to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 for their flight.
Cruz said this was because of previous experiences where those they were seeking to deport created scenarios that would prevent their deportation. With AFP
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