Bureau of Immigration nabs Indonesian POGO worker

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration has arrested an Indonesian who worked for a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) that had been shut down for its alleged involvement in cybercrime and human trafficking, the BI said yesterday.

Angga Pratama, 34, was about to board a flight for Singapore at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 when the bureau’s Border Control and Intelligence Unit operatives stopped him, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said in a statement.

The BI intercepted Pratama after the bureau’s records showed he is accused of involvement in cybercrime while employed at Xinchuang Network Technology Inc. in Las Piñas.

Pratama was also charged with overstaying and working without a permit.

The POGO was ordered shut down after police raided its compound in June and rescued 2,724 people, many of them foreigners.

Pratama will be detained in the BI’s holding facility in Bicutan, Taguig prior to his deportation.