Bureau of Immigration (BI) fugitive search unit (FSU) agents under its head, Rendel Ryan Sy, arrested on Friday three Chinese men caught by Tawi-Tawi police attempting to illegally cross Philippine borders.
Sy said the arrest is in line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to strengthen monitoring of coastal areas to prevent illegal cross border activities.
He identified the suspects as Zhang Xiaofeng, 36; Guo Jinxia, 35; and Zhong Xiongwei, 54.
Mapun Municipal Police station (MPS) of Tawi-Tawi Police Provincial Office (PPO) reportedly intercepted Zang and Guo during a routine checkpoint at the Port of Mapun in Tawi-Tawi.
Meanwhile, Zhong was reportedly intercepted by the 1st Special Operations Unit, Special Boat Crew of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Maritime group on a different port inspection activity. The said interceptions were conducted with the Tawi-Tawi Provincial Police Information and Technology Management Division (PIT), Regional Intelligence Unit 9.
They were later arrested by the BI after being found to also be overstaying.
The BI has been actively collaborating with local law enforcement agencies in areas being used as illegal migration corridors or what is commonly known as backdoor to address cases of foreign nationals illegally crossing maritime borders, said BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval.
“The subjects were temporarily held under the custody of the Tawi-Tawi PPO and the PNP Maritime Group. They were transferred to the BI’s facility in Bicutan on September 1, where they will remain while facing their deportation case,” Sandoval added.
