THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) has deported 36 Chinese online gaming workers who were arrested in an alleged scam hub in Pasay City.
In another move, the BI denied an American citizen to enter the country for being a sex offender.
In a statement, the BI said the deported Chinese nationals were sent back to Nanning City, China aboard a Royal Air flight.
They were arrested in a joint operation by the BI, the PAOCC, the Department of Justice, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police at the SKK building in Pasay City.
They were found to be involved in a hub conducting crypto scams, BI chief Norman Tansingco said.
Meanwhile, the American, identified as Todd Nolan Jones, was intercepted at the NAIA 1 terminal moments after he arrived aboard a Eva Air flight from Taipei.
Jones was denied entry and booked on the first available flight back to his port of origin. He was a registered sex offender, is an excludable alien under the Philippine immigration act, having been convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude.
“It has been our standard to turn back these aliens with a record of conviction for sex offenses. We are doing this to protect our women and children, any of whom could be their next victim,” the BI chief stressed.
According to the US government, Jones was convicted by a California court in 2000 on three counts of sexually molesting children aged under 13.