CIDG nabs 4 South Koreans over illegal gaming ops

CEBU CITY – Police arrested in a raid Friday, Aug. 5, four South Koreans allegedly involved in illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) in Barangay Lahug here.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Lapu-Lapu City Field Unit identified the suspects as Kang Taewong, 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-LapuLapu 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.

“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, opting to operate in Cebu City, believing that cyber security is more lax here. The South Koreans will face charges for violating the Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998.