Laguna gambling lord eludes CIDG raid; wife arrested

MANILA, Philippines - A suspected gambling lord managed to escape from elements of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) during a raid in Calamba City, Laguna, but his wife was arrested and P198,170 in cash bets and gambling paraphernalia were confiscated.

Rolando Bustria, who allegedly operated illegal bookies of the Small Town Lottery (STL) in Laguna, managed to slip out of his house at LE Village 5 in the Calamba City proper before the CIDG operatives came, but his wife, Violeta, was cornered.

Aside from cash bets and gambling paraphernalia, the Bustrias’ house also yielded a 9-mm Daewoo automatic pistol, said Director Cipriano Querol, head of the Directorate for Intelligence of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Querol said a police team headed by Chief Inspector Jaime Agbuya swooped down on the house of the Bustria couple amid reports that they were running illegal bookies of STL.

The raiding team was armed with a search warrant issued by Judge Cynthia Ricablanca of the Sta. Cruz regional trial court.

On the same day, elements of the Intelligence Group (IG) confiscated five video karera machines during a raid in Tondo, Manila.

The arrest of Mrs. Bustria brought to 222 the number of persons arrested by the PNP in its  intensified anti-illegal gambling drive since Feb. 28, according to Querol.

The PNP leadership tapped the CIDG and IG in the renewed war against illegal gambling as regional, provincial, district and station commanders are remiss in their duties against these vices, Querol added.

Querol said the DI is now gathering intelligence information against all forms of illegal gambling such as jueteng, STL bookies, horseracing, lotteng, cara y cruz, color games, sakla, drop ball, jai alai, suertres, Last 2, and Pick 3, before striking on their operators.