CEBU CITY – Police arrested Friday, August 5, four South Koreans allegedly involved in illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) in a raid in Barangay Lahug here.
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Lapu-Lapu City Field Unit identified the suspects as Kang Tae-wong, 42, of Gwangju, South Korea; Jung Ho-won, 41; Kim Dae-hyeon, 36; and Park Ji-sung, 40.
The suspects were arrested in their condominium. Kang was the subject of the raid based on a search warrant issued by Judge Ramon Daomilas of the Cebu City Regional Trial Court Branch 11.
Seized from the condominium were computer sets, cellular phones, one-time password generators, Wi-Fi routers, Subscriber Identity Module cards, universal serial bus flash drives, and other electronic devices.
Police Capt. Nigel Sanoy, CIDG-Lapu-Lapu City Field Unit chief, said the suspects ran an online gaming and dating site which they used as platform to victimize fellow South Koreans.
Sanoy said their office had been investigating Kang’s alleged illegal activities since February this year.
He said that the suspects would entice their would-be victims to invest in a certain company.
“They use their online gaming and online dating sites to victimize other Koreans. Using these sites, they would attempt to phish their victims. Once the victim clicks on the link of their sites, they would then hack the victim’s bank account,” Sanoy said.
Surveillance showed that the suspect started their operations in 2019, said Sanoy.
Sanoy said the Koreans opted to operate in Cebu City, believing that cyber security is more lax here.
Charges for violating Republic Act (RA) 8484 or the Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998 as amended by RA 11449 will be filed against the suspect, Sanoy said.