The Bureau of Immigration (BI) arrested 36 foreigners – consisting of Chinese, Indonesians and mostly Koreans – following a raid on an illegal online gaming company at a hotel in Pasay City.
The operation was conducted after the BI received reports of aliens working without appropriate gambling permits in the area.
“We coordinated with PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) and verified that this company is unlicensed and has no authority to operate,” said BI Commissioner Jaime Morente.
It was learned that the company has not applied for any license with the PAGCOR, which is a requisite for online gaming companies to operate in the country.
BI Intelligence Chief Fortunato Manahan Jr. said the company was uncovered to be engaged in “illegal live studio” gambling, wherein the operators and management are mostly Koreans.
“Apart from the live studio, they were also conducting illegal and clandestine online gaming operations,” said Manahan.
The 36 foreigners were taken in custody for engaging in work without the proper visas and documentation.
“We initially rounded up 40 individuals, but found four of them to be sufficiently documented, being permanent residents in the country,” said Manahan.
“However, the other 36 were unable to present their passports and visas, and were caught in the act of working illegally.”
Arrested are 31 males and 5 females, two of which are Chinese, two are Indonesians, while the rest are Koreans.
The suspects will be detained at the BI’s Warden Facility in Bicutan, Taguig upon release of their negative RT-PCR testing result.
Morente warned illegal aliens not to take advantage of the pandemic to commit illegal activities. “We call on all foreigners to legalize your stay and do not take advantage of the pandemic,” the BI chief said. “We will continue to arrest, deport, and blacklist any alien who disobey our laws,” Morente added.
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