Chinese firm manager, 60 workers nabbed for illegal online gaming

One Chinese national was arrested for possession of illegal drugs and 60 others were turned over to National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) after authorities found out that a company in a commercial building in Makati was involved in illegal online gaming and dubious activities involving business documents.

Zhang Hai Long, general manager of Haoying Solutions Inc., was caught in possession illegal drugs in the company office at the 15th floor of Multinational Bancoporation Center on Ayala Avenue in Salcedo Village, Barangay Bel-Air on Wednesday night.

Agents from the NCRPO, led by regional intelligence chief Senior Supt. Eleazar Matta, served him a search warrant issued by Judge Bonifacio Pascua of Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 56.

Matta said they were surprised to find out the company was conducting illegal online gambling and its 60 other employees—50 Chinese, four Singaporean, four Taiwanese, and one Hong Kong national—presented only tourist visas.

They will be turned over to the NCRPO in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig, for questioning.

Authorities will also coordinate with the Bureau of Immigration to verify if the Haoying employees were illegally staying in the country.

He said Haoying, which presented a certificate of registration from the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority dated Dec. 20, 2015, was supposed to be operating in Santa Ana, Cagayan, as a business engaged in gaming support services or business process outsourcing.

Matta added the Chinese company had a Bureau of Internal Revenue permit that had expired in 2013. It also had no barangay permit.

Police seized eight sachets of a white crystalline substance suspected to be shabu (metamphetamine hydrochloride), 12 aluminum foil sheets with traces of suspected shabu, three lighters, and one improvised tooter, among other drug paraphernalia.

Matta said Zhang Hai Long allegedly shared with his employees his illegal drugs “to survive the 24-hour work of the company.”

Around a hundred desktop computers used in the illegal online gambling will also be turned over to police. —ATM