Update: In June 2023, Bernard Lu Chong announced that he had been "cleared of all criminal charges" after showing that his association with Fortune Yield Cargo Services Corporation had ended "years before" the shipping company was accused of a drug smuggling attempt.
"Chong presented irrefutable notarized evidence to the court detailing the dissolution of any affiliation with the accused company years before the incident," reads a press release issued by a PR agency on Chong's behalf. "He achieved complete dismissal by demonstrating that he had long since transferred his shares of stocks to Jaymark De Vicente, the president of Fortune Yield."
Original article follows.
Original story: The owner of the Bren Esports team, Bernard Lu Chong, is being sought by authorities in the Philippines in connection with a $33 million drug bust, the Daily Tribune reports.
Chong is currently wanted by Philippine police due to his ties to Fortune Yield Cargo Services Corporation (FCS), which is accused of trying to smuggle about 276 kilos (or around 608 pounds) of meth through Manila International Container Port three years ago. Chong is alleged to be one of the owners of Fortune Yield Cargo Services.
A long resolution from Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva states that payments on the scale necessary for Fortune Yield to carry out a smuggling operation like the one busted three years ago could not occur "without the general manager's knowledge and acquiescence". Before the meth bust in 2019, Chong was also named in connection with a container smuggling operation worth about $1.25 million, for which he faces separate charges.
Chong has since taken to Twitter to deny the allegations against him, writing that he categorically denies "these claims that may destroy the good name" that he has "taken care of for so many years", and retweeting statements of support from figures in the esports community. Chong does not say whether he will be turning himself in to the authorities.
I’m writing this twitter thread to categorically deny these claims that may destroy the good name I have taken cared of for so many years.August 2, 2022
Bren Esports is a big regional presence on the esports scene, and having its owner become the subject of a major drugs-related manhunt is sure to cause wider and wider ripples the longer it drags on. Of course, the Philippines has been notorious for its harsh anti-narcotics policies ever since former president Rodrigo Duterte began his 'war on drugs' after taking office in 2016, a war which his successor has pledged to continue (though with more focus on prevention and rehabilitation). Anyone with the means to do so is likely to spend a lot of time and money avoiding the possibility of having to face such a system, so this story may drag on for a while.
