Philippine police have nabbed 132 foreigners in connection to gambling-related kidnappings since 2017, the Philippine News Agency reports.
The arrests have been conducted by the Philippine National Police-Anti Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG) and mostly involved Chinese individuals who have kidnapped patrons of the nation’s casino resorts.
AKG spokesperson Lt. Col. Elmer Cereno told local media that police have unraveled 61 cases of casino-related kidnappings. As many as 119 Chinese nationals, two Malaysians, seven Filipinos, and four Koreans have been arrested in relation to those cases.
Mr. Cerano said that the Anti Kidnapping Group has rescued 57 Chinese nationals, four Malaysians, three Koreans and one Vietnamese, Australian, Singaporean, and American nationals in the 61 cases recorded in the past two years.
Mr. Cerano also added that there were 17 incidents of gambling-related kidnappings in 2017, 16 in 2018, and 28 as of September 21, 2019. He blamed the significant rise in the number of kidnappings this year on the growing number of hotel and casino resorts in the Philippines. The properties boosted gambling activity in the country, which eventually brought more international visitors, mostly Chinese nationals who are regionally known for their gambling habits.
Mr. Cereno pointed out that the increased number of casinos in the Philippine “invites syndicates with criminal mind, to involve in a wicked business of loan sharking inside the casino premises.” Such syndicates prey on gamblers who run up losses at the Philippines’ casinos, kidnap them, and often ask for a ransom.
President Duterte Wants Kidnappers Caught “Dead or Alive”, “Preferably Dead”
The Philippines’ fiery leader commented on the growing incidents of casino kidnappings in his typical controversial fashion. At a launch event for Hong Kong real estate company Golden Topper Group held earlier this week in Parañaque City, President Rodrigo Duterte said that “there are foreigners who come here to play their trade, lending money, and if the debtor cannot pay, they kidnap and sometimes they ask for a ransom, […] and even with the delivery of the money […] they just go ahead and kill the victim.”
He went on that “you can come, you can play your trade, you can commit your crimes, but if I catch up with you, it is dead or alive. Preferably dead. Alive I have to feed you. There’s a rice crisis in this country. One mouth less would be good.”
Aside from being a popular destination for gambling at brick-and-mortar casinos, the Philippines has also turned into a boon for offshore gambling in recent years. A number of gambling operators have obtained the so-called POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator) licenses from the local regulator PAGCOR to service Asian customers, mostly Chinese nationals.
In August, PAGCOR announced that it would stop issuing new POGO licenses to address certain issues, including the exponential growth of foreign nationals, mostly Chinese, flocking to the country to pursue employment in its thriving online gambling industry.
Over 200,000 Chinese nationals are believed to be working for Philippine-based POGOs, many of whom employed illegally.
China urged the Philippines to shut its POGO sector altogether, but President Duterte said that an offshore gambling ban would not be economically viable for his country as the Philippines annually collects billions from POGO license holders.
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