Illegal gambling in the Philippines: arrest made in Quezon City

Sasaki Yohei was allegedly linked to an offshore gaming operator based in Cambodia.

The Philippines.- National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Maj. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. has said that a 36-year-old man named Sasaki Yohei, from Japan, was arrested on Tuesday (October 1) during a raid in Barangay Tandang Sora, Quezon City.

According to authorities, Yohei was a fugitive who was allegedly linked to an offshore gaming operator based in Cambodia and who escaped from Cambodian authorities in 2023 during an anti-offshore gaming operation launched in 2023. Officers found he was a member of a Japanese telecom scam syndicate and he had previous criminal records for theft and breaking into a residence. Yohei is now under the custody of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) before his possible deportation.

In unrelated news, the BI reported on Saturday (September 28) that nearly 3,000 foreign workers employed by offshore gaming operators with downgraded visas have departed from the country.

During a meeting of the recently formed POGO Closure Task Force, BI officer-in-charge commissioner Joel Anthony Viado also reported that as of September 24, they have downgraded 5,955 visas. Of the total, approximately 55 per cent have already left the Philippines.

Viado said that, during the meeting, task force members agreed to conduct service days for offshore gaming companies, where they will implement their downgraded visa status and issue exit clearances. He also added that DOLE representatives would join them during service days to collect surrendered alien employment permits for offshore gaming workers.

The DOJ previously set a deadline of October 15 for all foreign offshore gaming workers to voluntarily downgrade. From October 16, the visas of foreign offshore gaming workers will be changed to tourist visas. They will be required to leave the Philippines within 60 days or face involuntary repatriation. If they do not leave before December 31, the BI will commence deportation proceedings. According to Viado, however, the more challenging period will come next year, when those who refused to leave will be arrested, deported and blacklisted from the Philippines.

See also: Over 40k Filipinos to be affected by closure of offshore gaming operators