Ben Madilynn
Some P8 million in cash hidden in a box was attempted to be smuggled out from the Tourist Garden Hotel in Lapu-Lapu City which was raided on Aug. 31, 2024, for alleged Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogo) activities.
Arnel Pura, supervising agent of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Cebu District Office, disclosed to reporters on Wednesday, Sept. 4, that bundles of P1,000 cash were found inside the box upon inventory.
“Because of the vigilance of our security upon inspection, it reveals that this box, which upon inspection, contains bundles of P1,000 bills,” Pura said.
He added, “This was inventoried in the presence of our Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (Paocc) and Bureau of Immigration (BI) and it turns out the total amount is P8 million.”
He said on Sept. 2, upon the order of the hotel owner, a Filipino worker tried to sneak out the box containing the P8 million cash, along with rice and cooking oils, said Pura in a phone interview with SunStar Cebu on Sept. 4.
But it was intercepted by the authorities.
Pura said that instead of pressing charges against the worker, the authorities will use the latter as a witness to the case. He said that the worker had already executed an affidavit.
“Ang empleyado wala man siya’y motive or intent nga i-sneak out (money) gipadala lang sa iya ang cash gihalo sa bugas and mantika,” Pura said.
(The employee has no motive or intent to sneak out the money, it was given to the worker, and the cash was put together with the rice and cooking oil.)
He also said that the P8 million was considered as proceeds of the crime, and they will be waiting for the disposition of the custody of the money, either it will be submitted to a search warrant or asset preservation.
Human trafficking
The authorities also caught a break after a certain Zandrew Cantarona trooped to the hotel on Monday, Sept. 2, and brought with him 51 passports of the Indonesian nationals, who were among the 169 foreigners who were picked up during the police operation at the suspected Pogo site on Aug. 31.
Upon learning of his alleged involvement in the illegal activity, authorities placed him under arrest for acting as an accessory to the crime of qualified trafficking in persons.
The investigation further revealed that Cantarona was working for a Chinese recruiter who was allegedly involved in the illegal trafficking of Indonesian victims.
“Out of 69, 51 passports were submitted. So evaluating the situation, we determined that he could be possibly charged for accessories to human trafficking because he is in possession of those passports and that passport is material evidence to the case,” said Pura.
The NBI also confiscated Cantarona’s identification cards and the motorcycle he used in transporting the passports.
Aside from Cantarona, 16 foreign nationals were also charged with human trafficking for their alleged involvement in the Pogo hub on Sept. 3.
The 16 foreigners were among the 169 foreign nationals who were earlier charged for being undocumented and working in the country without a visa.
This also included the father and son who owned the hotel since 2019. They were identified by the authorities as Shao Qi Zhao and Long Zhao.
The foreign nationals were charged with qualified trafficking in persons due to unmet salaries of the job recruitment and taking the passports of the victims, said NBI 7 Director Rennan Augustus Oliva.
He added the case was also based on the testimonies of the other foreigners who were detained at the Pogo hub against their will and other evidence that pointed to the arrested individuals.
Oliva said that the NBI will also initiate a case buildup on money laundering against the suspects.
“Trafficking for persons is a non-bailable offense and we are just starting. The task force and the Paocc are just starting, we will be investigating further like the search warrant, we will be examining the computers and file additional charges,” said Oliva.
“We will be opening an investigation for money laundering that will be another charge so we can gather enough evidence. That’s more than enough cases,” he added.
All 169 foreigners were transported on Sept. 4, to Manila where they will face the charges and deportation proceedings.
