Will arrest of Philippine Pogo ‘kingpin’, allegedly linked to Alice Guo, expose conspiracy?

Authorities say Lyu Dong established a ‘a network of scam farms’, including a Pogo facility in the town where Guo formerly served as mayor

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Authorities have described Lyu Dong, who was arrested on Thursday, as the “kingpin” of Pogos in the country. Photo: Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC)

Published: 4:02pm, 14 Oct 2024Updated: 6:15pm, 14 Oct 2024

Philippine authorities have arrested an alleged “kingpin” of crime-linked offshore gaming operators with suspected ties to dismissed mayor Alice Guo, in a move that could expose a broader web of crime and corruption.

Chinese national Lyu Dong was detained on Thursday in Laguna province, just 40km south of Manila, by operatives from the military and the Bureau of Immigration, according to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).

“He is who we can say is the ‘kingpin’ of the Pogos in our country,” PAOCC executive director Gilbert Cruz said in an interview on Friday.

Dong reportedly arrived in the Philippines in 2016 and proceeded to establish several Philippine offshore gaming operations (Pogos) around Luzon island, which the PAOCC report on his arrest described as “a network of scam farms”.

Dong – whose real name is Lin Xinhuan, based on a Chinese passport found by authorities – allegedly has ties to the Pogo firms Lucky South 99 in Porac, Pampanga and Hongsheng Gaming Technology, later renamed Zun Yuan Technology, in the town of Bamban in Tarlac, which has been linked to Guo.

Alice Guo, the former mayor of Bamban, attends a Senate hearing over accusations of human trafficking and links to Chinese organised crime, on September 9. Photo: AFP

Guo was dismissed from her role as mayor of Bamban after an anti-corruption court in August found her guilty of “grave misconduct” for her alleged ties to the Pogo hub in her town, which authorities said was carrying out scams and human-trafficking activities after the facility was raided in March.