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LUCENA CITY––Two suspected bet collectors for an illegal operation of Small Town Lottery (STL) called “bookies” were arrested Monday, June 6, police operations in Calauag and Catanauan towns in Quezon province.
The police said in a report Thursday that anti-illegal gambling operatives arrested at 7:50 p.m. David Rey, 53, while collecting and accounting money bets in Barangay Tagbacan Ibaba.
In Calauag, police collared Arlene Alvarez, 45, while gathering money bets at 10 a.m. in Barangay Sta. Maria.
Seized from both suspects were STL “lastillas” or bet collection forms, paraphernalia, and money bets of different denominations.
Police said the 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 the illegal operation of the state-sanctioned lottery.
“Bookies” are illegal STL operations that maintain unauthorized betting stations in remote areas to avoid detection by the authorities. They adopt the winning combination from draws of the legal STL held at the Pirouette office in Lucena.