Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers arrested a Swiss national at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for alleged involvement in sex crimes against children.
In a statement over the weekend, the BI reported that the suspect, identified as Heinz Arbenz, was stopped by immigration officers at NAIA Terminal 1 on September 29 after attempting to depart for Bangkok.
Arbenz was later arrested by the BI’s fugitive search unit (FSU) after the BI received confirmation of his previous sex-related crimes.
Records show that Arbenz is a sex offender with two prior convictions in Switzerland in 2017 and 2021 for offenses related to the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse materials.
In 2024, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Canton of Aargau, Switzerland, initiated further criminal proceedings concerning new allegations of possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material.
He has stayed in the Philippines for more than 3 weeks, and is suspected of visiting Southeast Asian countries to victimize children.
The BI said the arrest is part of its Project #Shieldkids, an intensified campaign against child traffickers and foreign sexual predators whose presence poses a risk to public security and safety, especially to the welfare of the children.
BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado denounced the presence of another foreign predator, declaring it outrageous that such individuals continue to target the vulnerable, and vowed that the Bureau will exhaust all means to ensure they are expelled and held accountable.
