Four foreigners were intercepted by immigration officers who tried to leave the country with spurious documents.
Bureau of Immigration Port Operations Division Chief Grifton Medina said the foreigners—a Chinese fugitive, a Nigerian, and two Sri Lankans—were intercepted in three separate occasions at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Medina said the Chinese man, identified as Wang Wen, 33, was intercepted at NAIA 2 who attempted to flee the country via a Philippine Airlines flight to Xiamen.
“He was found in possession of a Philippine visa with fake immigration arrival and departure stamps. Upon verification with our records, it was discovered that he is the subject of a summary deportation order in 2018 for being a fugitive from justice, as he is wanted in China for being involved in economic crimes,” Medina said.
The BI-Traffic Control and Enforcement Unit also held Nigerian Adekunle Michael Ogunade, who attempted to leave using a fake Solomon Islands passport.
BI-TCEU chief Timotea Barizo said Ogunade admitted during investigation his true nationality, upon confirmation that his Solomon Island passport, driver’s license, and identity card were all found to be counterfeit by BI’s forensic document laboratory.
“He was spotted and accosted by our men who noticed his unusual behavior. He seemed like he was trying to evade immigration checks by taking advantage of the passenger congestion,” she said.
At the NAIA 2, the BI intercepted two Sri Lankans at the transfer desk area identified as Dorosamy Asah and Talayan Hilamaran, who likewise attempted to transit from Malaysia to Brisbane, Australia using fake Malaysian passports.
Their passports have shown irregularities which led the officer to submit the documents for forensic inspection.
It was later confirmed that the two presented fake passports, which they allegedly acquired in Malaysia.
Wang and Ogunade are now detained at the BI detention facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City pending their deportation, while the two Sri Lankans have been denied transit and returned to their port of origin.