6 illegal STL bet collectors busted in Quezon province

LUCENA CITY –– At least six suspected bet collectors for illegal operation of the government-run Small Town Lottery (STL) called “bookies” were arrested in police operations in Quezon province on Wednesday, police said Thursday.

Anti-illegal gambling operatives nabbed Romeo Isleta, Julio Isles, Arvin Subejano, and Julios Ervin Isles, all residents of Rizal, Laguna, while listing and arranging STL cash bets inside a rented apartment at the Lopez town center at 2:35 p.m., Colonel Audie Madrideo, Quezon police chief, said in a report.

The police said the apartment, which Isleta was renting, was not the official STL bets remittance center in the locality.

In Lucena, police arrested Joey Panisa while gathering cash bets for STL in Barangay Gulang-Gulang around 10:30 a.m.

In Sariaya town, Ronnie Grita was collared while soliciting lottery bets in Barangay Manggalang Bantilan around 2:30 p.m.

Seized from the suspects were STL bet collection forms, paraphernalia, and money bets of different denominations.

All arrested suspects failed to produce legitimate identification cards issued by Pirouette Gaming Corp., the licensed STL operator in the province, which showed they were engaged in illegal operation of the state-sanctioned lottery.

The suspects will face charges of violation of the amended law on illegal gambling. /lzb