A male Chinese national suspected to be a member of a notorious ‘salisi gang’ said to be involved in thefts aboard commercial airplanes was nabbed by the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
BI Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) Operations Center (APOC) Chief Melvin Mabulac identified the Chinese national as Zhou Wei, 52. Zhou was immediately boarded back to his country of origin and has been blacklisted and banned from re-entering the country.
Mabulac said the China man was arrested after he attempted to enter the country last January 20 aboard a Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1.
It was learned that the BI received a system alert, showing information about Zhou’s movements and according to Mabulac, reports from international intelligence sources state that Zhou is the member of organized criminal group consisting of Chinese citizens who are involved in committing thefts on board of aircraft of various airlines.
Mabulac said their crimes commonly involve stealing money in cash from hand luggage of other passengers and based on available information, gang members usually take hand luggage from overhead compartments, return to their seats and check the luggage content for cash and other valuables.
Zhou was immediately intercepted and denied entry into the Philippines upon his arrival.
The BI said the operation was made possible through the use of UN goTravel software of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, with assistance from the Australian government. Said system allowed the BI to get advance information about suspected criminals, giving the bureau the opportunity to make the necessary arrangements for their interception.
