A known figure in the Southeast Asian eSports scene finds himself in the middle of a drug-related legal case in his home country.
Bernard "Bren" Chong, the owner of Bren Esports, has been accused by the Philippines' National Bureau of Intelligence (NBI) after he was discovered to be one of the owners of a shipping company that tried to import meth into the country.
A drug bust involving the shipment uncovered $33 million worth of drugs.
Aside from being the owner of Bren Esports, Chong is also an app entrepreneur as well as a coffee magnate. Chong has already spoken about the allegations made against him and has denied the accusations.
Bren Esports Owner Has Been Accused of Drug-Related Offense
A warrant of arrest has already been issued for the Bren Esports Owner, according to a report by Kotaku. Chong has been charged under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.
The shipping company in question, Fortuneyield Cargo Services Corporation, is alleged to have tried to smuggle meth into the Philippines in 2019.
The company "allegedly paid for both the container deposit and the freight costs for the drugs, leading the NBI to say 'It would be impossible for these payments of significant amounts to be made without the general manager's knowledge and acquiescence,'" Kotaku says in its report, which cites anoter report by The Daily Tribune.
Joey Moran, the International Operations Division Chief at NBI in the Philippines, has expressed his hope that Chong would surrender to face the charges against him and to spare everyone the trouble from not doing so.
Bren Chong Posts a Statement on Twitter
The Bren Esports owner has taken to Twitter to share his statement regarding the allegations made against him. In a Twitter thread, Chong denied the accusations that have been made against him.
"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," he says in one of the tweets part of the thread.
In another tweet, Chong adds that he believes "in the justice system that protects the innocent, and the truth will always prevail."
You can view his statement below:
Hello Twitter, as some of you may be aware, throughout the last few hours there have been several news articles written about my alleged involvement in a case in my home country, the Philippines.
— Bernard Chong (@brenchong) August 2, 2022
Bren Esports
Kotaku's report highlights that Bren Esports is a Filipino esports organization founded by Chong, who named it after him, in 2017, per a report by Dot Esport.
Bren Esports' teams have participated in different tournaments for Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and more. In fact, the organization has won in 34 tournaments and is considered as one of the best known esports organizations in Southeast Asia.
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