Philippines arrests over 150 foreigners in online gambling raid

Philippine authorities arrested more than 150 foreign nationals during a raid of an illegal online gaming hub on Saturday.

Agents found dozens of people engaged in illegal activities on makeshift workstations inside a resort on the central island of Cebu, the immigration bureau said in a statement.

Authorities discovered “at least three scam farms” run by Chinese, Indonesian and Myanmar nationals, according to Winston Casio, spokesman of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission. The raid stemmed from a request by the Indonesian embassy, he said. 

“We’ve seen enough evidence to be able to file a cybercrime offence, for facilitating cybercrime-related gambling, cybercrime-related qualified trafficking,” Casio said in a briefing that was streamed on the Facebook page of The Freeman, a Cebu-based news outfit.

Local newspaper Cebu Daily News said a total of 162 foreign nationals were found at a hotel, who appeared to be operating a scam farm. They included 83 from China, 70 Indonesians, six from Myanmar, one Malaysian and two from Taiwan, the paper said.

The arrested foreigners will be temporarily detained prior to deportation, the immigration bureau said.

“This will serve as a warning to those who might attempt to start illegal online gambling operations, which has already been banned by the President.” Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr in July announced the ban on Philippine offshore gaming operators which cater to foreign gamblers, amid calls to shut down an industry that he said stoked crimes including money laundering.