Police arrested 172 individuals in an operation against illegal online cockfighting, or e-sabong, in Vitas Coliseum in Tondo, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Wednesday.

Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-National Capital Region chief Col. John Guiagui said those arrested included bettors, management staff, gaffers, and bet takers, along with equipment such as 45 computer units, three tripod cameras, and several fighting cocks.

Of the total, 132 bettors were released to their families and barangays, while management personnel and operators remain in custody.

“There are 172 individuals, of which 132 are bettors, so those are the ones we took personal circumstances of there and released last night to the immediate families and the barangay. All we left there is the management, the one running the cockpit, the tellers, cameramen, sentinels, the gaffers and then a lot of roosters that are hanging there. The information that reached us is late last year, it already exists,” Guiagui said.

The suspects will face charges for violation of Presidential Decree 1602 (Illegal Gambling) in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

Authorities said the operation ran 24 hours a day, with fights lasting two to three minutes each and reaching up to 500 matches daily. Bets ranged from P100 to P1,000, with each fight generating at least P300,000.

“The online sabong operations last 24 hours a day even without bettors physically present. There are at least 500 fights a day, imagine that it is more than 2 minutes, you will immediately release the chicken. Traditional cockfighting will take 30 minutes at least, right? If that is the case, there will still be eliminations because there will be champions. The cockfighting goes straight to the point even though there is no one, they still fight 24 hours,” Guiagui said.

Despite evidence presented, the management initially denied operating an e-sabong ring until shown video proof by authorities.

Police are also investigating possible lapses by barangay officials and determining whether influential individuals were behind the operation.

“We are looking into that. We are not ruling out the possibility that is why our director said he is investigating deeper to see who the protectors are, who the people are behind the online sabong,” Guiagui said.

The PNP is also coordinating with the Anti-Money Laundering Council to determine whether assets linked to the operation may be seized.

In a separate operation, two individuals were arrested in Taal, Batangas for allegedly selling stolen racing pigeons online. Authorities recovered 43 pigeons valued at P2.1 million.

The suspects will face charges under the Anti-Fencing Law.