Philippine authorities arrested more than 150 foreign nationals during a raid on an illegal gambling center on Saturday.
Agents found dozens of people engaged in illegal activities at makeshift work stations inside a resort on the central island of Cebu, the Bureau of Immigration said in a statement.
According to Winston Casio, spokesman for the Presidential Commission on Organized Crime, authorities uncovered “at least three fraud farms” run by nationals from China, Indonesia and Myanmar. The raid was conducted at the request of the Indonesian Embassy, he said.
Casio said in a briefing broadcast on the Facebook page of The Freeman, a Cebu-based news outlet:
We saw enough evidence to be able to file a case of cybercrime, for facilitating gambling related to cybercrime and skilled human trafficking related to cybercrime.
The Cebu Daily News, a local newspaper, reported that a total of 162 foreign nationals were found at the hotel, apparently running a scam farm. They included 83 Chinese nationals, 70 Indonesians, six from Myanmar, one Malaysian and two from Taiwan, the article said.
The arrested foreigners will be temporarily detained before being deported, the Bureau of Immigration said.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said:
This will serve as a warning to those who may try to start illegal online gambling activities, which have already been banned by the President.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in July announced a ban on Philippine offshore gambling operators catering to foreign gamblers, amid calls to shut down an industry he said facilitated crimes including money laundering.
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