Philippine police raid Chinese-run scam centre in Manila, arrest dozens

In a significant crackdown, Philippine police raided a Chinese-operated scam centre in Manila on Thursday, arresting numerous Filipino and foreign workers accused of duping individuals into investing in a “manipulated” trading platform.

Authorities revealed that the centre, which was disguised as a licensed online gaming company, had been conducting illegal operations. This comes in the wake of President Ferdinand Marcos’s recent ban on online gaming due to its association with scams, kidnappings, human trafficking, and even murder.

During the early morning raid on an office tower in the capital, police apprehended 67 foreign nationals, including 58 Chinese, along with individuals from Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, and Vietnam. In addition, 32 Filipinos were also detained.

Among those arrested were the facility’s owner and manager, both Chinese nationals, according to a police statement.

Police said the centre was running a “crypto-currency investment scam” and “love scam”, with employees posing as wealthy models who would “entice” victims to invest in a “manipulated” trading platform.

The Filipinos arrested told police they were forced to work as scammers, the statement said, without specifying what would happen to them if they refused.

Some employees worked as models who were made to “dress in a seductive manner” and engage in “lascivious conduct” to help lure prospective victims, the statement added.

Marcos issued the ban on online gambling operators following public outcry over allegations that a local mayor was involved in a huge scam centre north of Manila.

Alice Leal Guo, the mayor of Bamban municipality, has been on the run after she was accused of being a Chinese citizen who fraudulently obtained Filipino citizenship that enabled her to run for office.

She left the country last month, immigration officials said this week, prompting a Marcos promise to go after those who “aided in her flight”, vowing “heads will roll”.

Authorities believe there could be several hundred illegal online gambling entities — as well as many of the more than 40 licenced operators — that are running scam centres under the noses of public officials.