Immigration agents at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have intercepted two African visitors who attempted to enter the country with fake Canadian passports.
The pair arrived at the NAIA terminal 3 aboard an Emirates flight from Dubai and presented counterfeit Canadian passports to the Immigration officers who doubted the authenticity of the travel documents.
The two travelers were identified as Adraman Issa Mariam and Halime Abba Souleymane, both nationals of the central African republic of Chad.
“Apparently, they attempted to conceal their true nationality in the belief that they would be allowed entry into the country without being subjected to strict inspection by our officers. They are wrong to assume that such documents can pass as legitimate,” Immigration agent Carlos Capulong said.
Upon learning of the incident, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco ordered the inclusion of the two Africans in the immigration blacklist to prevent them from re-entering the Philippines.
“I commend our officers at the NAIA for a job well done. Due to their vigilance, we were able to frustrate the intentions of these undesirable aliens to gain illegal entry into our country,” the BI chief added.
It was reported that the passengers presented Canadian passports which were noticed as doubtful due to many inconsistencies in the document.
The passports were forwarded to the BI’s forensic documents laboratory, which confirmed that the documents were indeed counterfeit.
The duo were excluded and booked on the first available flight back to their port of origin.
