NBI arrests 5 Koreans operating illegal online casino in Ayala Alabang

By Leonard D. Postrado

Published: July 11, 2013

From mb.com.ph:

Manila, Philippines — Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) have arrested five South Koreans who were allegedly operating an illegal online casino inside the posh Ayala, Alabang Village in Muntinlupa, the bureau reported yesterday.

Nabbed during Monday’s raid were Naryun Kim, Yunhee Hwang, Seyoung Chung, Wonseok Yang, and Hoi Cherl Yang, all temporarily residing at Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa City.

NBI Director Nonnatus Caesar Rojas said the five South Koreans were arrested by the bureau’s agents who raided their house in Ayala, Alabang last Monday.

Citing a report from the NBI-National Capital Region (NBI-NCR), headed by Regional Director Elfren L. Meneses Jr., Rojas said the NBI earlier received a letter request from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) concerning the continuous operations of an international telephone fraud syndicate here in the Philippines and requested the NBI to investigate the matter.

The NBI-NCR received a reliable information last June 21 that several Taiwanese and Korean nationals were engaged in fraudulent telephone operations in a place in Ayala, Alabang.

Rojas said the bureau’s agents were able to track down the whereabouts of the computer technician, who installed the expanded Internet/telephone connections via Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) at the suspects’ place.

The technician was the person who gave the police the information about the suspects and their location, according to Rojas.

“Accordingly, he was contacted by a Taiwanese national, Bao Shiao-Yu, the alleged syndicate leader. He personally saw the fully functional computer workstations manned by Taiwanese and Korean nationals as call center agents. He was also able to eavesdrop on the fraudulent calls inside a house,” Rojas said.

With this information, Rojas said the NBI then conducted a surveillance operation on the suspects’ temporary home in Ayala Alabang, wherein the bureau’s agents immediately noticed a series of intertwined telephone cables attached to the house.