3 alleged bet collectors of illegal STL fall in Quezon

LUCENA CITY – Police arrested three suspected bet collectors for the illegal operation of Small Town Lottery (STL) called “bookies” in Lopez town in Quezon province on Saturday, police said Sunday.

Anti-illegal gambling operatives nabbed Gerry Bitoin, 56; Leoncio Purio, 50; and Mark John Oriarte, 30, while collecting and accounting money bets in Barangay (village) Gomez and Magsaysay on three different occasions, Police Major Rodelio Calawit, Lopez police chief, said in a report.

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.

Seized from the suspects, who are all residents of the said municipality, were STL bet collection forms, paraphernalia, calculators and money bets of different denominations.

The suspects were detained at the police jail and will face charges of violation of the amended law on illegal gambling.