AT least 1,240 Chinese were arrested for illegally working in an online gambling den in a posh village in Clark, Pampanga, the Bureau of Immigration said on Friday.
The arrest was part of the bureau’s intensified drive against foreigners illegally working in the country, particularly in the operation of online gambling that caters to clients in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said.
The BI chief said the apprehended Chinese nationals are now considered undesirable aliens for violating the conditions of their stay as tourists.
Some of the arrested aliens were being checked based on reports that they illegally entered and worked into the country.
The BI’s Fugitive Search Unit, in coordination with Philippine National Police led by Angeles City police director Sr. Supt Sidney Villaflor, raided a building in Fontana village where the Chinese were caught operating computers for online gambling.
Seized from the aliens during the raid were several computer units, monitors, CPUs, modems, keyboard, laptop, hard disks, tablets, routers, Wi-Fi, telephones, cables, and other paraphernalia.
The arrested suspects were confined to a place secured by both immigration and police authorities.
The arresting agents were armed with a mission order from the BI chief after the aliens’ presence in the building was confirmed as a result of intensive monitoring for several weeks.
“The sustained effort to weed out illegal immigrants and undocumented foreign nationals continues to gain ground with the help of our partners in law enforcement and the community,” Morente said.
The arrested Chinese nationals will undergo summary deportation proceedings for violating the conditions of their stay in the Philippines and for engaging in activities inimical to the public interest.