6 Chinese fugitives discovered in raided Tarlac POGO
The crimes allegedly committed by the fugitives wanted in China include fraud, illegally crossing the national border, running a gambling house, aiding information network criminal activities, and creating disturbances
CLARK FREEPORT, Philippines – Six Chinese fugitives are among those who were rounded up during the March 13 raid of Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) Zun Yuan Technology Corporation in Bamban, Tarlac, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said.
The six fugitives wanted in China were identified as Wang Tao, Cao Junpeng, Jiang Ling, Zhou Binbin, Wang Dechao, ang Shi Xiangling.
Based on the data obtained by Rappler, the crimes allegedly committed by the fugitives include fraud, illegally crossing the national border, running a gambling house, aiding information network criminal activities, and creating disturbances.
The six are the subjects of separate warrants of criminal detention issued by Chinese police between June 2019 to March 2024.
The PAOCC said the six fugitives will be their priority in deportation procedures.
PAOCC said the Chinese embassy in Manila has expressed interest in handling the deportation cost of the fugitives and the remaining Chinese nationals from the other raided POGOs in Sun Valley Clark Hub Corporation in Clark Freeport in Pampanga, Hong Tai in Las Piñas City, and Smart Web Technology Corporation in Pasay City.
How were the fugitives identified?
PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio said identifying fugitives is part of their protocol in every POGO raid. Casio said it takes an average of nine working days to identify the fugitives.
“It has become our SOP that once we find Chinese or Taiwanese nationals in a raided POGO, we send their names to their embassies for verification. Just like the previous raids, the Chinese embassy was able to identify some fugitives from the raided Zun Yuan scam farm,” said Casio.
The BI said Chinese authorities informed them about the fugitives in a letter dated April 3, about three weeks after the raid. The fugitives had entered the Philippines with no derogatory records.
Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval said they have already raised their request for data-sharing of the fugitives with different embassies in order to include their names in their database of blacklisted aliens.
Sandoval said they are still waiting for the disposition of the law enforcers to file criminal cases against the fugitives.
“The Commissioner, in his various meetings with different embassy reps, has raised his request for data-sharing, so the BI may be given a copy of fugitives from their country ahead of time, to be included in our database of blacklisted aliens,” Sandoval told Rappler on Friday, April 5.
“Similar to those included in the Interpol watchlist, once encountered at the ports, we are able to exclude them (deny their entry) immediately,” she added. – Rappler.com