Four illegal `last two' bet fixers arrested in Maguindanao

MAGUINDANAO --- Authorities arrested Tuesday four roving bet fixers of last two numbers game in three towns in Maguindanao, the first to fall in the initial crackdown by the provincial police.Senior Supt. Agustin Tello, Maguindanao police director, said on Wednesday that all four suspects are now in their custody.They will be charged with violation of Republic Acts 9287 and 1602, which prohibits all forms of illegal gambling in the country, according to Tello.The popular last two illegal numbers game is based on the last two digits of the winning combination of numbers from daily lottery draws by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.Tello said agents of the Datu Odin Sinsuat municipal police were the first to arrest two bet collectors, Mohammad Tahir and Jerry Javier Diroma, in separate operations on Tuesday.Tahir and Diroma, arrested in Barangays Tamontaka and in Tenorio, respectively, were immediately detained for prosecution. The operation that led to their arrest was a joint initiative of the Datu Odin Sinsuat municipal police office and barangay officials, Tello said.Two other offenders, Zabar Mamalu Pua and Wahab Biruar Lumontod, were also arrested in separate operations on Tuesday.Pua was nabbed in Datu Piang town in the second district of Maguindanao.Lumontod was apprehended by policemen in the municipal center of Parang, a seaside town in the first district of Maguindanao. We are expecting more arrests soon as we intensify our campaign against illegal last two operations in all 36 towns in Maguindanao, Tello said.