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Philippines deports 69 Indonesian illegal online gambling operators
More than 4,700 Indonesians working in the online gambling sector in the Philippines, both legally and illegally, have been told to return home after Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos banned online gambling operations in the country.
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Police attache at the Indonesian Embassy in Manila Sr. Comr. Retno Prihawati (left) talks to Indonesians deported from the Philippines on Oct. 22, 2024, at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng, Tangerang, Banten. (Kompas.com/Intan Afrida Rafni )
T
he Philippines has deported 69 Indonesians for their alleged involvement in online gambling and cyber scams, following a major raid at a hotel in Cebu province.
The deported individuals are among 539 Indonesians who are allegedly involved in illegal gambling operations.
"They are Indonesian citizens who were deported because they were online gambling and cyber scam workers in the Philippines," the Foreign Ministry’s protection of Indonesian citizens and legal entities director, Judha Nugraha told a press conference in Tangerang, Banten, early on Wednesday, as quoted by Antara.
Judha said that these people were identified following a raid related to an offshore gambling operator case at the Tourist Garden Hotel in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu province, on Aug. 31.
"From the operation carried out by local law enforcement, it was reported that there were 162 cyber scamming workers from various countries, and 69 of them were Indonesian citizens," Judha said.
He noted that of the Indonesian workers, two had been named as suspects in the online gambling crime, four were victim-witnesses and 35 had been identified as perpetrators of online scamming and had been repatriated.
Following this incident, the Philippine government has downgraded the visas for Indonesians involved in the online gambling operations following the raid, police attaché at the Indonesian Embassy in Manila, Sr. Comr. Retno Prihawati, told the press conference.
