Indonesia deports an ex-Philippine town mayor accused in Manila of cybercrimes

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia on Thursday deported a dismissed Philippine town mayor accused in Manila of helping establish an illegal online gaming and scam center and evading an investigation by the Philippine Senate.

Alice Guo, 34, will continue her legal process in Manila, according to a written statement from Indonesia's Law and Human Rights Ministry’s Directorate General of Immigration.

Indonesian police arrested Guo Tuesday in the outskirts of Jakarta. In exchange, Indonesian authorities hope that the Philippines will repatriate Australian Gregor Johann Haas, one of Indonesia’s most-wanted drug suspects, who was arrested in central Philippines in May.

Guo was scheduled to undergo a medical checkup at the police headquarters before being handed to the Philippine Senate.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. thanked Indonesia Wednesday for the arrest of Guo, who was accused in the Philippines of helping establish an illegal online gaming and scam center catering mostly to clients in China.

Guo was also accused of being a Chinese spy and of faking her Filipino citizenship, which allowed her to be elected in 2022 as mayor of the rural town of Bamban in Tarlac province north of Manila.

Guo, who denied wrongdoing, was dismissed from her post for grave misconduct by the Ombudsman, a Philippine agency that investigates and prosecutes government officials accused of crimes including graft and corruption.

After Guo fled the Philippines in July, she was tracked in Malaysia and Singapore before turning up in Indonesia. Two companions, who reportedly slipped out of the Philippines with her, were recently arrested in Indonesia and immediately deported to the Philippines.

In July, Marcos ordered a ban on widespread and mostly Chinese-run online gaming operations, accusing them of involvement in human trafficking, torture, kidnappings and murder.

Khrisna Murti, chief of the international division of the national police, said Wednesday in Jakarta that “exchange efforts are still being negotiated" over the return of Haas.

Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos and Philippine National Police chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil flew to Jakarta Thursday to hold talks with their Indonesian counterparts.

Asked about the reported detainee swap, Indonesian Ambassador to Manila Agus Widjojo told the state-run People’s Television Network that “the talks have only just started” Thursday.

Haas, reportedly the father of a rugby star in Australia, has been described by the Bureau of Immigration in Manila as a “a high-profile fugitive for being an alleged member of the Sinaloa cartel, a large international organized crime syndicate based in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico that specializes in drug trafficking and money laundering activities.”

Indonesian authorities alleged that in December Haas tried to smuggle into Indonesia a shipment of floor ceramics filled with more than five kilograms (11 pounds) of methamphetamine, a highly addictive stimulant which is prohibited in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Australia, which had abolished the death penalty, is concerned that Haas may potentially face capital punishment if he’s repatriated to Indonesia, a Philippine official told the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue publicly.

Under Indonesia’s strict drug law, Haas could face the death penalty by firing squad.

Australia’s extradition law doesn’t allow anyone to be extradited to a country that would execute that person regardless of nationality.

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Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, and Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia are contributed to this report.