Philippines arrests 244 suspects in online scam crackdown

What the report says

Philippine authorities said they arrested 244 foreign suspects, most of them Chinese nationals, in one of the country’s largest anti-scam operations this year. According to Al Jazeera, military units and other law enforcement agencies raided two locations in Mindanao on Friday as part of a crackdown on illegal offshore gaming operations, known as POGOs.

The Immigration Bureau said the first raid led to the arrest of 110 Chinese citizens, along with two Cambodians and one Hong Kong resident. A second site produced 131 more arrests, mostly Chinese nationals, as well as people from Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar. Officials also seized computer equipment, phones, laptops and SIM cards.

Manila banned POGOs in 2024, saying criminal groups had used them as a cover for trafficking, money laundering, kidnapping, fraud and murder. The government is now examining whether some of those detained may face human trafficking-related charges, while others are expected to be deported.

The case fits a broader regional pattern that has drawn international concern, with scam centers and related illegal online businesses reported across Southeast Asia. Al Jazeera also reported that the Chinese embassy has been contacted about the case, and that China prohibits gambling, including work for gambling firms abroad.