Manila (AsiaNews/Agencies) – An anti-crime operation by Philippine security forces in Pasay, Metro Manila, has discovered an illegal hospital that treated victims of gambling-related human trafficking, as well as fugitives seeking cosmetic alterations to escape arrest.
The facility involved with Philippines Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) was discovered thanks to a tip-off. Three doctors, two from Vietnam and one from China, a Chinese pharmacist, and a Vietnamese nurse were arrested, none licensed to practice in the Philippines.
Hair transplant equipment, dental prostheses, and even a room for skin whitening sessions were found, all intended for a Chinese clientele involved in criminal activities related to gaming.
“If you bring all of these together, you can create an entirely new person out of those,” said Winston John Casio, a spokesman for the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission
At least two other illegal health facilities were reported Metro Manila that deal with the Pogo industry, he added.
“We are concerned that Pogo workers who get sick or shot when kidnapped or tortured in POGOs do not go to legal hospitals but to illegal ones like this,” Casio explained.
In recent months, the Philippine Congress has been pushing to ban POGOs, citing the industry's links to a range of criminal activities, including scams and human trafficking.
The authorities freed more than 150 Chinese workers after raiding a compound in Porac, Pampanga province, where they discovered equipment used for torture, scams, and even camouflage uniforms.
According to Casio, only 42 offshore gaming operators in the Philippines currently hold valid licences, mostly in Metro Manila, while the government has already cancelled about 298 other Pogo licences.
