Alice Guo, the ousted mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, was captured earlier this week when Indonesian authorities traced her using an active SIM card in her cell phone. Thanks to thorough Bureau of Immigration (BI) tracking and local law enforcement, Guo, who had been avoiding authorities in the Philippines for months, was apprehended in Tangerang City, Indonesia.
SimCard Arrest and Trace
When Indonesian officials, assisted by the BI, followed Alice Guo’s active SIM card to a Tangerang City home, the search for her reached a breakthrough. Rendel Sy, leader of the BI Fugitive Search Unit, said Guo owned three cell phones, one with an active number. “May tatlo siyang cellphone number Na nakuha and may isang active number, at doon Na Na-track ang kanyang location,” Sy said.
Law officials first followed Guo’s location first to a hotel she had visited then focused on her present address using SIM card data. Calmly asking time to change before being detained, Guo politely answered the door in her sleepwear.
After habitually skipping hearings on criminal behavior connected to a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in her hamlet of Bamban, Alice Guo came under the target of a Senate arrest order in the Philippines. Guo left the Philippines in July and, although on an immigration alert bulletin, managed to hide until this week. Based on suspicions of corruption, Capas, the regional trial court of Tarlac, has also issued an arrest warrant.
Guo had under inquiry her suspected role in human trafficking linked to the shuttered POGO hub in Bamban before her detention in Indonesia. Still awaiting conclusions, authorities had complained against Guo and others involved. Apart from these allegations, she also has 87 counts of money laundering and a deportation case.
Guo’s hiding in Indonesia and connections
Apparently, Guo received help on the escape from local Indonesian contacts. Chinese and Indonesian nationals helped her to get away from police presence. Sy says, “Naging malaking tulong sa amin nung na-identify nyu dito,” stressing the important part these local friends helped Guo escape. One of her close acquaintances was a Chinese national who assisted in hotel booking under aliases and offered logistical support.
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Guo had met a female monk in a nearby mall; her house was where Guo was arrested. Through her supporters, investigators could track Guo’s activities until she was imprisoned.
Guo was extradosed back to the Philippines after her imprisonment. In an interview with GMA Integrated News before she left, she said she was ready to come back; yet, she said nothing about how she managed to hide and travel overseas. Her homecoming was much awaited since she is expected to be accused of money laundering, allegedly involvement in illicit gaming and human trafficking.
Legal Conflicts Ahead
Guo hardly manages his legal problems. Apart from the charges leveled against her in relation to the POGO hub and claims of human trafficking, she also carries many more charges including money laundering. Senate orders of arrest in July followed her refusal to show up for planned hearings meant to look at criminal conduct at the POGO hub in Bamban.
Authorities looking for her responsibility for allegedly committed crimes connected to her leadership in Bamban want the former mayor to return to Manila so that more inquiry on her activities may be conducted. The court processes will either prove Guo innocent of the allegations or guilty depending on the circumstances and maybe fines.
The detention of Alice Guo emphasizes how well global collaboration seeks out fugitives. After months of fleeing authorities, the fired mayor’s active SIM card indicated a turning point in the quest. The case emphasizes the difficulties and complexity of foreign law enforcement, especially in cases involving well-publicized offenders accused of serious offenses where Guo returns to the Philippines to be prosecuted.
