The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced having deported a total of 75 foreign nationals last September 22, saying they form the first batch of foreign nationals expelled from the country after their alleged involvement in scamming activities in the guise of an online gaming customer relations service provider.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that the 75 foreign nationals, made up of Chinese nationals, departed via the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 afternoon of Friday on board a Royal Air flight to Nanning, Guangxi and that said foreigners are part of the group arrested in an operation led by the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) against SA Rivendell Global Gaming Corporation located in Pasay City. They were later charged by the BI for undesirability after being tagged as part of a scamming syndicate.
“The strong partnership of the BI with PAOCC as well as IACAT member agencies led to this massive arrest and deportation of foreign nationals abusing their stay in the country. This is in line with the President’s directive for government agencies to work closely together, in unity, to achieve greater results,” Tansingco said.
As the arresting agency, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) retained custody of the said aliens during their deportation proceedings.
The BI chief said the deportees were reportedly involved in love scams and cryptocurrency scams, targeting Westerners.
Initially 76, one of the deportees, identified as He Zeng Ming was offloaded by the airline due to his medical condition after allegedly experiencing chest pains.
As a consequence of the deportation, all deportees have been included in the BI’s blacklist, effectively barring them from returning to the Philippines. The BI says that it expects to deport more than 70 other foreign nationals connected to the scam.
