Filipino businessman and owner of esports organization Bren Esports, Bernard Chong, has been cleared of smuggling charges, according to a report.
Chong was accused of being involved in the smuggling of $33.6 million in methamphetamines by the National Bureau of Investigation in the Philippines and was wanted by local authorities. A warrant was issued for his arrest on June 2, 2021. Chong was allegedly tied to the drug smuggling attempt through his business ties with the Fortuneyield Cargo Services Corporation.
The Bren Esports owner was cleared of these charges, according to a report from Valo2Asia, after Chong filed a petition last year arguing that the court should dismiss the charges and reverse the warrant due to abuse of discretion and lack of jurisdiction.
The judge on the case ruled his petition had merit, revoking Chong’s arrest warrant and clearing him of drug smuggling charges. Chong also provided documentation that proved he had severed ties with the Fortuneyield Cargo Services Corporation before drugs were found in one of their shipments, according to the report.
Bren Esports owner cleared of drug smuggling allegations
Chong responded to the initial allegations on Twitter on August 2, 2022. He said he “categorically” denied the charges against him and that “the truth will always prevail.”
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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
He also released a video through Jake Lucky at the time and said he believes in the justice system.
The owner of Bren Esports who was alleged of involvement in a botched drug smuggling valued at over $32 million, has responded to the allegationsHe also tells me he's invested into the cargo company that is the key figure in the allegations, a company which he remains hands off pic.twitter.com/oe95NLESVZ
— Jake Lucky (@JakeSucky) August 2, 2022
“I hope the people that spent time with me, who really know me, they can be a character witness or be the one to tell the world outside what kind of person I am,” Chong said.
Bren Esports was founded in 2017 and quickly became of the biggest organizations in Southeast Asia. The company had teams in titles like League of Legends, Mobile Legends and Valorant.
The organization’s biggest achievement to date was winning the Mobile Legends M2 World Championship in 2021. Bren currently only fields a Mobile Legends roster as it exited most of its other esports titles in 2021 and 2022.