The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) today said 10
Chinese nationals and 26 Filipinos have been arrested in two separate operations
against illegal gaming operations and online scams in Laguna and Parañaque City
since Tuesday.
The first operation in Biñan, Laguna on Tuesday, May 1, resulted in the arrest of 16
people who were running an illegal online raffle on Facebook. The raiders are from
the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) and the PAGCOR
security group.
The suspects, which run the FB Page Lucky Dream 4, were caught red-handed in
their office located inside a subdivision while livestreaming their 50 th raffle event.
Earlier today, May 2, another group of suspects that included 10 Chinese nationals
were arrested by joint elements of the CIDG-NCR and PAGCOR inside a house in
Multinational Village, Parañaque for violation of the Anti Trafficking in Persons Act
(RA 9208), Alien Registration Act (RA 562) and Cybercrime Prevention Act (RA
10175).
PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco said the arrests are part of the
state gaming agency’s intensified campaign against illegal online gambling and other
illicit activities through strengthened collaboration with law enforcement agencies.
“We have been receiving reports of illegal online activities including those in social
media platforms. As the country’s gaming regulator, it is our duty to protect the public
– especially the youth — from these illegal online gambling sites,” he said.
PAGCOR Senior Vice President for Security Cluster Raul Villanueva said Lucky
Dream 4, which has 111,000 followers on Facebook, was conducting live online
raffles that offered second-hand modified motorcycles as prizes.
Villanueva said that in one raffle event, the group can sell an average of 40,000 to
50,000 tickets, with each ticket costing Php40.
“They have amassed over Php8 million from the time they started this illegal online
operation because in one draw, they can sell as many as 50k tickets,” Villanueva
said.
“Ang masaklap nito, karamihan sa miyembro ng grupong ito ay kabataan. Ang
pinaka-matanda sa kanila ay 27 years old pa lang,” he said.
“The Lucky Dream 4 group is obviously engaged in an illegal online gaming activity.
Negosyo na ang ginagawa nila. They need to secure a license from PAGCOR if they
want to operate an online gaming platform,” Villanueva added.
In the Parañaque raid, Villanueva said authorities arrested seven male and three
female Chinese nationals believed to have been part of a group that managed to
escape from an earlier raid on a large gaming compound in Bamban, Tarlac last
March.
Nine Filipino female workers were also rescued, while one 1 Filipino male serving as
a bodyguard was arrested for possession of an undocumented .45 caliber pistol.
The raiders also confiscated around 75 mobile phones, 30 desktop computers, 50
laptops, assorted credit cards, two cars and one motorcycle along with assorted
Chinese government documents.
Two vaults were also found in the house located at 18 Teheran Street inside the
exclusive subdivision.
Police said the Chinese suspects were engaged in scamming activities such as love
and cryptocurrency scams similar to the illegal activities in the Bamban, Tarlac
compound which was raided last March.
