2 ‘bookies’ bet collectors held in Quezon

LUCENA CITY – Two suspected bet collectors of illegal Small Town Lottery (STL) called “bookies” were nabbed in Sariaya town in Quezon province on Sunday, police reported Monday.

Colonel Audie Madrideo, Quezon police director, said anti-illegal gambling operatives caught Rene Reyes, 32, and Ronnel Reyes, 29, while collecting money bets in Barangay (village) Lutucan 1 around 8:30 p.m. The report did not state how the two suspects were related.

Recovered from the suspects were STL collection forms and P1,050 worth money bets in different denominations.

Both failed to produce the identification card issued by Pirouette Gaming Corp., the licensed STL operator in the province, which showed that they were was engaged in an illegal lottery operation.

The suspects will face charges of violation of Republic Act No. 9287, the amended law on illegal gambling.

Last year, police arrested 1,270 suspected illegal gamblers, 78 of them engaged in “bookies” operations in different parts of the province.