More than 100 foreigners caught in illegal online gambling hub in Cebu
LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu?The Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported the arrest of more than 100 foreign nationals in an illegal online gaming hub in Cebu on Saturday.
BI intelligence division chief Fortunato Manahan Jr. said their operations in a resort in Barangay Agus in Lapu-lapu City in Cebu was conducted in coordination with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC), and the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT).
Also on board were personnel from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to assist possible trafficking victims.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, PAOCC spokesman Winston John Casio said among the people who were found working in the establishment are Indonesians, Chinese nationals and citizens from Myanmar.
Several Filipino workers were also being subjected to verification as of Saturday afternoon.
The raid stemmed from a mission order issued by BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco against 13 illegal aliens monitored to be overstaying and working without permit in the location.
During the raid, hundreds of foreign nationals were found to be engaging in illegal online gaming operations on makeshift work stations inside the resort premises.
The arrested foreign nationals will undergo inquest proceedings and will be temporarily detained prior to deportation.
Tansingco said that he believes resort owners should also face charges for harboring illegal aliens. DMS
