Bureau of Immigration (BI) has announced the arrest of 324 Chinese nationals caught allegedly engaged in cyber crimes and other illegal activities in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the aliens were apprehended in operations conducted on Monday by operatives from the BI Intelligence Division backed up by elements from the military, including the Western Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The aliens were reportedly rounded up in eight hotels and establishments where they were caught in the act of doing alleged illegal activities.
“They will undergo deportation proceedings for violating the conditions of their stay in the country and working here without permits. Initial reports indicate that most of these aliens are overstaying and undocumented,” BI chief said.
He added that there will be no letup in the BI’s campaign against illegal aliens, especially those who use the Philippines as a venue for illegal activities, particularly unauthorized online gaming activities, cyber fraud and investment scams that prey on unsuspecting victims who are mostly abroad.
The raiding teams, led by BI Intelligence Officers Jude Hinolan and Charlie Bautista, seized hundreds of laptops, cellular phones and gadgets during the operations.
“Many of them were not able to show their passports or any travel documents,” Hinolan said.
Bautista, meanwhile, said a team of BI prosecutors were already dispatched to Palawan to conduct preliminary investigation of the aliens.
BI Acting Intelligence Chief Fortunato Manahan Jr. disclosed that the operations were conducted as an offshoot of reports and complaints from local officials in Puerto Princesa on the presence of many illegal Chinese workers in the city.
Manahan said the foreigners, who were billeted in several inns and hotels, were subjected to weeks of intensive surveillance before the raids were carried out. (Ariel Fernandez)
