A CHINESE national suspected to have worked as one of the hackers in an offshore online gaming hub raided by authorities in Porac, Pampanga has been arrested in La Union, the Bureau of Immigration said yesterday.
BI Fugitive Search Unit chief Rendel Ryan Sy said 40-year-old Lin Qiude was apprehended last July 20 inside a posh resort at the Poro Point Freeport in San Fernando, La Union.
Sy said the operation that led to the arrest of Lin was conducted in cooperation with the police, military and their intelligence units.
He said Lin is suspected by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) as one of the hackers employed by the POGO hub in Porac town that hacked the bank accounts of its victims based in the US, Middle East and Europe.
According to the BI, since the Porac POGO hub was raided and other similar facilities are under watch, there is a possibility that they may have begun to transfer their operations to other areas up north.
“Isa siya sa mga expert hacker ng grupo na ito kaya kailangan siya para mag-set up ng panibagong opisina. Actually, ang information natin kaya sila napadpad sa parte ng La Union ay para mag-set up ng panibagong operasyon
(He is one of the expert hackers of the group. That is why he is needed to set up a new office. Actually, the information we received is that he is in La Union to set up a new operation),” Sy said in a separate television interview.
Sy said Lin is a fugitive in China where he is wanted for fraud.
“According to Chinese authorities, Lin is subject of a warrant of detention issued by the public prosecutor in Anxi County, China where he was charged with committing fraud,” he said.
Lin is now detained at the BI custodial facility in Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City.
