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Emmanuel Tupas - The Philippine Star
May 11, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Nine foreigners and two Filipinos were arrested after they were caught carrying trolley bags which contained over P440 million in cash at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu on Friday.
Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission executive director Gilbert Cruz said the suspects were intercepted at the security screening area of the airport’s general aviation terminal at around 10:30 p.m.
With the seizure of the cash and the arrest of the suspects happening days before Monday’s elections, authorities are checking the possibility that the funds were intended for poll-related “interference.”
Six of the foreigners are Chinese nationals, one Malaysian, one Indonesian and a citizen from Kazakhstan. They were accompanied by two Filipinos who were also apprehended by airport security personnel.
Philippine National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said one of the Chinese men, Wu Song, has a red notice alert for fraud from the International Criminal Police Organization or Interpol.
She said two other suspects, Li Fei and Chen Hao, have warrants of arrest for various crimes.
Fajardo said the foreigners arrived in Cebu on Friday at around 9 a.m. on board a van and went straight to a casino where White Horse Club, one of the junket operators linked to the kidnap-slay of Filipino-Chinese businessman Anson Que, used to operate.
The suspects went back to the airport and were supposed to board a private plane at around 11:30 p.m. when they were arrested.
Police earlier said the P200-million ransom paid by Que’s family ended up in 10 different e-wallet accounts and was converted to cryptocurrency after passing through White Horse Club and 9Dynasty Group, another junket operator.
Airport security personnel detained the suspects after they saw large sums of cash inside the trolley bags they were carrying, which were subjected to x-ray screening.
Based on initial inventory, Fajardo said the trolley bags contained P441,922,542 as well as $168,730 and 1,000 Hong Kong dollars.
Fajardo said the suspects violated Commission on Elections Resolution No. 11104 which regulates the transportation of large sums of money during the election period.
Under the measure, possession, transportation or carrying of cash exceeding P500,000 in public places is prohibited two days before and on election day except for authorized persons.
Casino winnings?
Fajardo said the casino sent a certification from White Horse Club hours after the suspects were captured, stating the amounts were winnings.
This further raised suspicions from personnel of the Aviation Security Group led by its director, Brig. Gen. Christopher Abecia.
Fajardo said they are investigating if portions of the money seized were part of the ransom paid by Que’s family.
Apart from its possible connection to Que’s murder, the money seized may have been intended to finance election-related unlawful activities, Fajardo said, citing a report from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
“Aside from money laundering, these foreign nationals might be a conduit to be used to interfere or at least influence the election,” she said.
Fajardo said the passing of large sums of cash through junket operators which are supposed to be no longer operating, is a cause of national concern. “This is a grave threat to national security.”
Cashed out in Cambodia
Fajardo said bulk of the P200-million ransom money paid by the family of Que had been cashed out from a financial firm based in Cambodia.
She said around $1.36 million or P75.77 million was cashed out from Huione Pay.
“What’s significant here is this Huione was investigated by the US government before for alleged money laundering,” Fajardo said at a news briefing in Camp Crame.
She said they traced the money through a cryptocurrency account which entered Huione Pay.
Que and his driver Armanie Pabillo were found dead in Montalban, Rizal even after Que’s family had paid ransom.
They were kidnapped in March and held captive in a house in Meycauyan City in Bulacan where they were killed.
A Chinese national identified as David Tan Liao and his Filipino cohorts, Richardo Austria and Reymart Catequista, are under police custody. Two other suspects, Gong Wenli and Jonin Lin, are still at large.
Fajardo said the Anti-Cybercrime Group tracked down $205,942 or about P11.43 million, believed to be part of the ransom money, now frozen after the PNP’s Anti-Cybercrime Group communicated with the cryptocurrency accounts outside the country.
