Former Philippine mayor Alice Guo arrested in Indonesia over China crime links

Manila: Alice Guo, a former mayor from the Philippines has been accused of having relations with Chinese criminal syndicates and spying for the Chinese government and was arrested from Indonesia after being on the run since July, Al Jazeera reported on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) in a statement mentioned that Alice who also goes by the name of Guo Hua Ping, and possesses a Chinese nationality, is wanted by the Philippine Senate for refusing to attend a congressional investigation into her alleged criminal ties with the Chinese crime world.

“This development has been verified by our counterparts in Immigration, who have confirmed that Alice is currently in the custody of the Indonesian Police,” the Justice Department statement said.

Alice, who was the former mayor of the Bamban town situated 62 miles north of Manila, the capital of Philippines was arrested in Tangerang City in Jakarta at 11:58 pm on Tuesday.

Additionally, the Philippine law enforcement agencies, including the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), last month had filed multiple cases of money laundering against Alice and 35 others before the Department of Justice, the Al Jazeera report added.

The AMLC has stated that Alice and her co-conspirators laundered more than 100 million pesos or USD 1.8 million in proceeds from criminal activities.

“The arrest of Alice Guo is a testament to the tireless efforts of our law enforcement agencies and the strength of international cooperation in bringing fugitives to justice,” Justice Secretary Boying Remulla said in a statement, according to the ABS-CBN news channel in the Philippines, quoted in the same Al Jazeera report.

Senate of the Philippines had initiated an investigation into her activities in May, two months after a casino raid in Bamban town uncovering what law enforcement officials said were scams being perpetrated from a facility built on land partially owned by Mayor Alice.

This discovery had prompted a public outcry and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr later ordered a ban on online gaming operators over their suspected links to organized crime. Along with a promise to go after those who “aided in her flight,” the Al Jazeera report claimed.

Authorities believe there could be several hundred illegal online gambling entities running scam centres under the noses of public officials. Moreover, Alice who had been removed from office, had fled the Philippines in July this year, travelling through Malaysia and Singapore and then to Indonesia its Philippine passport, the Philippine anti-crime agency said, according to the Al Jazeera report. (ANI)

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