THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) has deported to China 312 Chinese nationals, including 21 minors reportedly involved in telecommunications fraud.
BI Spokesman Dana Sandoval the 312 are among the 512 persons arrested by the immigration agents last month in a massive raid of a business- process outsourcing (BPO) office in Pasay.
The BI’s October 9 raid on an office at the Millennium Building in Pasay City netted 512 aliens allegedly conducting scamming operations.
Those arrested consisted of Chinese, Burmese, Malaysians, Vietnamese, Taiwanese and Indonesians.
BI Intelligence Chief Fortunato Manahan Jr. called the operation a success after the implementation of the mass deportation. Sandoval said the 312 Chinese boarded three separate chartered flights to China aboard China Eastern airlines.
The operation started around 3 a.m. Thursday at the remote parking of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 1 followed by another batch of deportees at around 8 and 9 p.m. Thursday night.
“We are very much thankful to the National Capital Region Police Office [NCRPO] for assisting us in this operation,” said Manahan.
Pending their deportation, those left behind were temporarily taken into custody by the NCRPO and held in a facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, in Taguig, Sandoval said.
Also leaving with the 312 are 21 minor’s who were earlier turned over to the Chinese Embassy upon determination of their age.
Manahan added that the passports of the deportees have already been cancelled by the Chinese government, making them undocumented aliens.
Sandoval said the 312 deported and 21 minors will directly fly to Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province and Changchun, Jilin Province. They will be escorted by BI Intelligence personnel, as well as Chinese police officers.
The rest of the suspects will be transferred to the BI Warden Facility pending the issuance of their deportation orders and clearances.
Commissioner Jaime Morente commended the BI Intelligence Division for the successful implementation of the operations. “Let this serve as a warning to aliens planning to use the country as a base for their illegal operations,” said Morente. “Expect more arrests in the coming days,” he warned.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes