10 Chinese, 26 Filipinos arrested in separate raids vs illegal games, online scams

PAMPANGA, Philippines – The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) said 10 Chinese nationals and 26 Filipinos have been nabbed in two separate raid operations this week over their alleged involvement in illegal gaming operations and online scams.

The Chinese suspects – seven men and three women – were arrested after police raided a house in Parañaque City on Thursday, May 2, over violations of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, Alien Registration Act, and Cybercrime Prevention.

Authorities believe they were among those who escaped from a raid on a Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGO) compound in Tarlac in April.

Zun Yuan Technology Incorporated – the internet gaming licensed hub that was the subject of last month’s raid – was allegedly engaged in cryptocurrency and love scams. Police said the Chinese nationals arrested in Thursday’s operations were involved in similar activities.

The PAGCOR press release also noted that nine Filipina workers were rescued, while one Filipino bodyguard was arrested for possession of an undocumented .45 caliber pistol.

A day before that, authorities also conducted a raid in Laguna, in which suspects who run the Facebook page Lucky Dream 4 were caught live-streaming a raffle of secondhand modified motorcycles. The page currently has 111,000 followers. 

“They have amassed over P8 million from the time they started this illegal online operation because in one draw, they can sell as many as 50,000 tickets,” PAGCOR Senior Vice President for Security Clcuster Raul Villanueva said in a press release.

“The Lucky Dream 4 group is obviously engaged in an illegal online gaming activity. Negosyo na ang ginagawa nila (What they’re doing is business). They need to secure a license from PAGCOR if they want to operate an online gaming platform,” Villanueva added. – Joann Manabat/Rappler.com