5 South Koreans arrested for operating online casino

MANILA, Philippines—The National Bureau of Investigation has arrested five Korean nationals illegally operating an online casino in the country.

NBI Director Nonnatus Rojas on Tuesday identified them as Naryun Kim, Yunhee Hwang, Seyoung Chung, Wonseok Yang and Hoi Cherl Yang, all are residing at the upscale Ayala Alabang Village in Muntinlupa City.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) asked the NBI to investigate international telephone fraud involving South Korean citizens in the country.

On June 21, the NBI National Capital Region received a reliable information concerning several Taiwanese and Korean nationals engaged in fraudulent telephone operations in the Alabang village.

The investigation bureau was able to find the computer technician, who installed the expanded internet/telephone connections via Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and gave information on the operation of the said online casino.

A court-sanctioned search was later conducted and the five South Koreans were arrested for operating the online gambling business without the necessary permits. The suspects also failed to produce documents establishing their identities.
The five will be charged with violating Presidential Decree 1602 as amended by Republic Act 9287 (An Act Increasing the Penalties for Illegal Numbers Game, Amending Certain Provision of PD 1602 and for Other Purposes), and violation of RA 8484 (The Access Device Regulations Act of 1998).