The 23 persons, who were arrested last Friday, July 26, for illegal gambling, are detained at the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas detention cell in Cebu City. | Contributed photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — An illegal gambling complaint has been filed at the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor’s Office against 23 persons, who were arrested last week for illegal operation of lotto outlets.
The National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas filed the complaint today, July 29, against the 23 persons arrested during simultaneous raids at past 6 p.m. on July 26, last Friday, in Consolacion and Liloan towns in northern Cebu.
According to Lawyer Dominador Cimafranca, acting NBI-7 chief, the simultaneous raids on 23 illegal gambling outlets were conducted after the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) sought their help on the illegal operations of these so-called “lotto outlets” or Peryahan ng Bayan outlets.
Read more: Duterte stops all PCSO gaming activities including lotto, STL
The operations were conducted a day before President Rodrigo Duterte ordered a stop of all PCSO games and the closure of all lotto, Small Town Lottery outlets in the country.
Read more: In Photos: Lotto, STL outlets in Cebu City closed
Read more: Cebuano bettors saddened by lotto outlets’ closure, but they back Duterte’s move
Duterte announced the closure of the lottery outlets because of the ongoing corruption investigation in the PCSO.
Meanwhile, the 23 persons if proven guilty of violating illegal gambling laws would spend time in jail./dbs