POGO as troll farm? NBI probes raided Zamboanga Sibugay sites

MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has begun looking into whether illegal online gaming hubs raided in Zamboanga Sibugay were also being used for troll farm operations after thousands of gadgets were recovered at the sites.

NBI Director Melvin Matibag said authorities have established that the raided facilities were being used for illegal offshore gaming and "love scam" operations.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) earlier said 244 foreign nationals were apprehended during the October 2 raids in Siay and Alicia, describing the operation as its largest crackdown on illegal POGO activities this year.

Matibag said the NBI is continuing its investigation and follow-up operations to determine whether government officials were involved and whether the facilities were also used for troll farm operations.

"Kaya nga po ito, may continuing investigation po kami rito, follow-up operations kasi po tinitingnan namin kung may involvement po ng mga government official... Hinihinala din po namin siya ngayon, kaya amin pong binubusising maigi, na maaaring sangkot din po sa troll farm operations itong mga ito," Matibag said in an interview with dzRH on Monday, October 5.

("That is why we have an ongoing investigation and follow-up operations. We are looking into whether government officials were involved. We are also closely examining whether these facilities may have been involved in troll farm operations.")

Matibag said the number and type of devices recovered prompted the NBI to investigate a possible troll farm link.

He said around 3,000 to 4,000 cellphones were recovered from the sites, along with SIM cards and international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) catchers.

IMSI catchers are devices that mimic legitimate cell towers, allowing them to connect to nearby mobile phones and collect identifying information.

Matibag said authorities also recovered equipment that could be used for mass text messaging.

"Sa dami po ng gadgets eh, saka po 'yung pang-blast, mga text blast na ganyan. Kaya nga po meron naman po kaming cyber warrant dito. Amin pong ipo-forensic 'yung mga amin pong mga nakuhang gadgets dito," Matibag said.

("Because of the number of gadgets, as well as equipment for text blasting. We have a cyber warrant, and we will conduct forensic examinations on the gadgets we recovered.")

The NBI said the examination of the seized devices will form part of its continuing investigation into the activities conducted at the raided facilities.

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