ARRESTED NCRPO chief Director Guillermo Eleazar (left) checks out one of the portable devices seized from several Chinese nationals (right) arrested on Thursday for allegedly operating illegal online gambling in a posh village in Makati. —NCRPO PHOTO
Eight Chinese nationals were arrested on Thursday for allegedly running a clandestine online gambling operation at upscale San Lorenzo Village in Makati City.
A team from the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), along with Bureau of Immigration (BI) agents, served a search warrant on a house on Briones Street, leading to the arrest of Li Chenchen, Hong Yu, Li Huimin, Cai Jian, Lei Chijin, Xiong Yaowui, Lin Yufei and Peng Cun.
Only one of the arrested Chinese had a working visa while the rest had tourist visas, according to NCRPO director Guillermo Eleazar.
The suspects, who reportedly arrived in the country six months ago, did not have a license to engage in a Philippine offshore gaming operation (Pogo) from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. or a business permit from the Makati city government, police said.
Lottery, games of chance
The arrest in San Lorenzo Village comes amid the controversy generated by President Duterte’s statement early this week that he would rather allow illegal Chinese workers to stay in the Philippines instead of deporting them, as this might provoke a tit-for-tat response that could affect the 300,000 Filipinos in China.
But the Chinese Embassy in Manila on Thursday disputed Malacañang’s claims that Beijing would retaliate if Philippine authorities were to round up and deport illegal Chinese workers. “China adheres to the principle of noninterference in other countries’ internal affairs,” the embassy said in a statement.
Seized on Thursday’s raid were desktop computers, laptops, modem, routers, cell phones and the suspects’ passports.
Eleazar said the computers were running software featuring “lottery and games of chance, though the characters (on the screen) were mostly in Chinese. Based on the examination conducted by members of anticybercrime group who were present during the operation, the software was in fact used for online gambling.”
“We had information from concerned citizens that Chinese nationals frequent the house in San Lorenzo Village,” the official added. “People now have awareness about the influx of Chinese nationals, including residents of posh villages.”
The suspects were detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City to face charges for violation of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
Recent shift
While they can post bail in relation to the gambling charges, they will likely remain in detention for violating immigration laws, Eleazar said.
Based on previous arrests, Chinese nationals involved in such illegal activities had set up call center-like establishments as their base, he said, noting that renting houses inside gated, upscale villages pointed to a more recent shift in their modus operandi.
In November last year, police raided the Finasia Tech Inc. office in the Ortigas business district and arrested 87 Chinese nationals and 16 Filipinos for illegal gambling.