This is the dramatic moment police arrested a Chinese boss accused of building offshore gambling companies in the Philippines.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) detained Chinese 'Godfather' Lin Xunhan, 33, at a housing estate in Binan, Laguna, at around 8 pm on October 10.

Officers surrounded the kingpin while he was walking toward his car outside his house. They also nabbed his nine Filipino bodyguards.

Aside from Xunhan, police also arrested 12 other Chinese 'POGO bosses'. They seized IDs, phones, computers, cash, and three unlicensed firearms from Xunhan's home.

Authorities have for eight months been hunting down Lin Xunhan, who also goes by various aliases like Boss Boga, Lyu Dong, and Hao Hao, for his links to the notorious Chinese online gambling casinos locally known as 'POGOs' believed to be fronts for organised crime.

PAOCC spokesman Winston Casio said: 'Testimonial evidence points to him as one of the major financiers, one of the major pioneers in setting up the POGO industry in the Philippines, not only in Lucky South, but also in the southern parts of Metro Manila.

'This is a big deal. One by one, we are catching the big bosses. Even if we jail a thousand Chinese workers, that is not enough if we can't cath the big bosses.'

Lucky South 99 is the operator of a sprawling POGO compound that police raided in the sleepy town of Porac in Pampanga province in June. It was said to be a hub of human trafficking, torture, and fraud.

When asked why Lin Xunhan had hired bodyguards for protection, Lin Xunhan's Chinese interpreter said: 'He saw the news that the Philippines is dangerous so he hired bodyguards to protect his family.'

The suspects were taken to the PAOCC facility in Pasay City, Metro Manila, for questioning.

POGOs cater to Chinese gambling clients in the Chinese mainland, but are notorious for being hotbeds for criminal activity, including scams and human trafficking. They mushroomed in the Philippines after former President Rodrigo Duterte cultivated close ties with China during his term.

Alice Guo, a town mayor accused of being a Chinese spy, was arrested in August also for her connections to the POGO crime network in the country.