A scheme to traffic Filipinos into Pakistan to work for gaming firms formerly based in the Philippines has exposed the latest evolution of online scam networks linked to the controversial Pogo industry, immigration officials and analysts warn.
The case – the first known incident involving Filipinos being trafficked to Pakistan – suggests that criminal syndicates previously operating under Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (Pogo) licences are shifting to new jurisdictions following a government crackdown on the sector.
On July 6, four Filipinos bound for Hong Kong were intercepted at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport after immigration officers found discrepancies in their statements.
Investigators later discovered that their real destination was Pakistan – and that one of them, a former Pogo worker, had been recruited by a Chinese ex-employer who had relocated operations after President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr ordered a nationwide Pogo shutdown last year.
In October, the Marcos administration ordered foreign Pogo workers in the country to voluntarily downgrade their visas before 2025 or face deportation.
The four Filipinos intercepted at the airport last week were the “first confirmed case involving Pakistan”, Melvin Mabulac, the Bureau of Immigration’s deputy spokesman, confirmed in a television interview with ABS-CBN News last week.
