13 arrested, P12-M equipment seized in Iligan anti-POGO raid

ILIGAN CITY — Police arrested 13 people and seized P12 million worth of equipment during an operation against an alleged Philippines Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) hub here late Wednesday evening, the Iligan City Police Office (ICPO) said Thursday.

Maj. Sandrex Panolong, ICPO public information officer, said investigators spent five months developing the case before carrying out the operation against Armsoft Information Technology Solutions at around 10:40 p.m. at the second floor of Ali Property Building in Purok 2B, Barangay Hinaplanon.

Panolong said the establishment secured a permit from the Iligan City government in May 2026 as a technology information service provider.

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READ: ‘Largest Pogo bust’: 244 nabbed in Zamboanga Sibugay raids“Their business served as a front for IT products and supposedly technical support,” Panolong told the Inquirer.

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A former employee tipped the police that the establishment also operates as a POGO hub, which kicked off their surveillance, he added.

Judge Ali Ombra Bacaraman of the Regional Trial Court, 12th Judicial Region, Branch 4, issued a search warrant on Wednesday that police immediately implemented.

The Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission and the National Bureau of Investigation also joined the operation.

The arrested individuals included 11 females and two males, of legal age, and mostly from Mindanao.

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Authorities seized 13 central processing units (CPUs), several computer monitors, keyboards, computer mice, modems, card scanners, gaming tables, decks of cards, color-game equipment, and recording cameras.

The Iligan City Police Station has taken the 13 in custody for documentation, pending the filing of charges for alleged violation of Republic Act No. 12312, or the Anti-Pogo Act of 2025./coa