Philippine authorities arrest more than 400 people in suspected cybercrime hub

More than 400 people, half of them from China, were arrested by Philippine authorities in a raid on a suspected online gambling and scam hub in a busy commercial district in the capital, officials said yesterday.

The 401 detained included 207 Chinese and 132 Vietnamese nationals who were arrested in a condo building in Pasay city on Wednesday night. They were suspected by Philippine authorities of involvement in illegal online gaming operations, along with cryptocurrency, romance and investment scams, according to a government report.

Other arrested suspects were from South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Madagascar, according to the report.

The scale of the arrests indicated how such lucrative online ventures have continued to thrive despite an order by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to law enforcers to shut them down by the end of last year.

Although a large number of online gambling outfits is believed to have relocated to other countries, including Cambodia and Myanmar, due to an ongoing crackdown in the Philippines, an unspecified number has remained in the country and ventured into an array of Internet-based scams.

Such scams have become a major issue in Asia, with many of the workers trapped in virtual slavery.