POGO ban, BBM’s anti-drug feat

The banning of online gaming operations or online casinos (POGOs) by President Marcos Jr. not only dealt a huge blow to the drug trade in the country but also curtailed the expansion of transnational organized crimes (TOCs) operating in the Asia-Pacific region.

It is similar to cutting the blood flow that gives life not only to online scam hubs, cyber fraud, and human trafficking but also the drug trade. It turns out that these online casinos (or POGOs as we refer to them here) have been used by TOCs to buy and sell drugs and launder the proceeds from the sale of drugs.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) recently released a technical policy brief (Casinos, Money Laundering, Underground Banking, and Transnational Organized Crime in East and Southeast Asia: A Hidden and Accelerating Threat, January 2024) detailing the convergence of the illegal drug trade and the operations of online casinos and illegal money services.

When the Chinese government tightened casino regulations in Macau in 2014, casinos moved to Southeast Asia, particularly the Mekong Region on the boundaries of China, Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos, referred to as the Golden Triangle.

The UNODC refers to the Golden Triangle as one of the world’s biggest drug trafficking corridors. The drugs manufactured here supply the whole Asia-Pacific region — from Japan to New Zealand.

Since Covid-19, casinos in the Golden Triangle have used more technology. Organized crime groups, particularly those involved in the production of drugs and drug precursors, realized that laundering proceeds from the drug trade is more convenient and safer through online casinos (POGOs) and illegal money services. They’ve also managed to integrate developments in IT, blockchain, and cryptocurrency into the operations of online casinos.

So these drug crime groups turned to owning and operating thousands of online casinos and gaming hubs, expanding their illegal activities from money laundering to online scams, cyber fraud, and human trafficking.

An example given by UNODC is the clear link of organized crime figurehead Wan (Broken Tooth) Kuok Koi to industrial-scale cyber fraud operations in human trafficking in Karen State, a special economic zone (SEZ) along the border of Myanmar with Thailand. Wan Kuok Koi, a longtime senior 14K triad member, is a key investor in and around Karen State. Through his Hong Kong SAR-registered Dongmei Group, Wan injected millions of dollars into the local casino industry and is believed to be a key player behind the proliferation of cyber fraud compounds in Karen State (similar to POGO compounds in Porac and Bamban).

This is why the ongoing hearings in Congress investigating the individuals — whether principals, accomplices, or accessories — who allegedly conspired, connived, aided or abetted the operation of scam hubs in Porac and Bamban are a matter of national and regional significance. The proliferation of POGOs aided in the proliferation of the drug trade.

This is also why Atty. Harry Roque’s constant harping about drug testing and his allegations of drug use by government officials are only intended to deceive the public. His association with crime personalities and the corporate entities involved in running these cyber fraud compounds should be meticulously studied.

POGOs are a real threat not only to our national security and, as the UNODC reported, to the regional security of the Asia-Pacific region. They are run by organized crime groups engaged in various illicit activities from drugs to human trafficking. This is why banning POGOs is the biggest anti-drug campaign victory of the present administration.