THREE Chinese men caught by Tawi-Tawi police while attempting to illegally cross Philippine borders were nabbed by Bureau of Immigration-fugitive search unit (BI-FSU) agents headed by Rendel Ryan Sy.
According to Sy, the arrest of the suspects were identified as Zhang Xiaofeng, 36; Guo Jinxia, 35; and Zhong Xiongwei, 54 is in line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s directive to strengthen the monitoring of coastal areas to prevent illegal cross border activities.
It was learned from BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval that the Mapun Municipal Police station (MPS) of Tawi-Tawi Police Provincial Office (PPO) reportedly intercepted Zang and Guo during a routine checkpoint at the Port of Mapun in Tawi-Tawi.
Zhong, on the other hand, was said to have been intercepted by the 1st Special Operations Unit, Special Boat Crew of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Maritime group on a different port inspection activity. The said interceptions were conducted with the Tawi-Tawi Provincial Police Information and Technology Management Division (PIT), Regional Intelligence Unit 9.
The three were later arrested by the BI after being found to also be overstaying.
Sandoval said the BI has been actively collaborating with local law enforcement agencies in areas being used as illegal migration corridors or what is commonly known as backdoor to address cases of foreign nationals illegally crossing maritime borders.
All three were temporarily held under the custody of the Tawi-Tawi PPO and the PNP Maritime Group.
They were transferred to the BI’s facility in Bicutan on September 1, where they will remain while facing their deportation case.
